Cats And Rabbits
by LadyStarling
Summary: Prince Endymion of Earth has to choose a wife that will create a beneficial union before war breaks out between the Earth and the Moon. Can he find the right woman in the midst of the court’s political intrigue?
1. Prologue

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

**Prologue:**

He paced.

Like some deadly cat kept caged in the royal menagerie, he crossed the full length of the room in a few lithe strides only to turn back in frustration. Every muscle in his body was taut. With his blue eyes flashing and his silky black mane in disarray he looked even more dangerous than the black panthers he favored.

He had found the edge of his proverbial cage, what would happen now was a mystery that many were frightened to see solved. He could resign himself, like the lions, and move back to the lazy life he had known before he discovered the cage. Like the cheetah, he could continue to pace the length of his enclosure testing every limit for the rest of his life. Either way, he would ultimately live in a cage.

Or there was the third option, the option that froze hearts when they saw it in his eyes. Like the black panthers he could fling himself against the cage, locked in an enduring struggle until he was free... Or dead.

For now he paced, while those around him watched with bated breath; afraid to make any sudden movements lest he be startled into fighting.

"Of all the hair brained ideas that have popped into Mothers head, why did he have to listen to this one!" With his nose a mere inch from the highly polished wood paneling on the wall he turned sharply on his heel. His flashing eyes met the clam blue scrutiny of his best friend Andrew's eyes.

Andrew was the cheery, collected counterpoint to his friend's moody spontaneity. In both personality and looks the men where like night and day. Andrew was of moderate height, with blonde hair and an easy smile; his friend towered over him, the typical tall dark and handsome mystery man.

Andrew shrugged; unable to step up to the challenge that flashed in his friend's eyes, unable to say what they both knew was the truth. "Calm down, Darien. I'm sure they will both have forgotten by tomorrow." They both knew it was a paltry lie.

"Miserable harpy." Darien muttered, running one hand through his hair.

Crown Prince Endymion of Earth, Darien to his friends, had been handed an ultimatum; choose a wife or have one chosen for you. Of course, it was never so simple as just going out and marrying some simple girl who would be grateful for his name and easy to put to the side. A common born wife would have solved to many of his problems, and would have been too easy to deal with. No, he had to marry an aristocrat. An Earthling Lady at worst, a Planetary Princess at best. Nothing could be easy.

His ever so loving mother had proposed a Convention of Peace, at the end of which he was to announce his engagement.

He could strangle the woman.

The convention would simply be a succession of balls, parties, and abysmally boring social events during which every eligible lady in the solar system would attempt to get her claws into him. They would want matrimony for power, and would be anything but biddable wives. The "Convention of Peace" would attract every empty headed, power hungry, pretty face in the vicinity. It would attract women like his mother, the type of women he had vowed never to marry.

Why had his father listened to that terrible shrew on this issue?

Darien knew why, he just refused to admit that his father was selling him for a little insurance.

The King was worried. There had been murmurs that the new rulers of the Moon Kingdom were preparing for war and garnering support in their bid for power; apparently winning their freedom wasn't enough for them. If war did break out again then the Earth would need every resource at their disposal, and as many allies as possible.

Of course, the promise of grandchildren to secure the Sheilds' line didn't hurt in making the King eager to see his son wed.

"What are you going to do?"

The prince shrugged as he draped himself over a plush arm chair. "Hell if I know." He let his breath go in a deep sigh, trying to dispel his anger. His mother might be an intolerable succubus but his father genuinely cared. "At least I won't have to deal with the Lunarian Princess."

Andrew's silence was disconcerting. It would be hard enough to deal with the six week long convention with out having to deal with an empty headed Princess who had an eye for his blood. "I don't... Do I?"

"No."

The Prince relaxed. "Don't scare me like that!"

"No, not the Lunarian Princess." The blonde refused to meet his friend's eyes. "But twelve of the Mare are coming."

"Damn!"

The Mare were the nineteen ruling houses on the moon. Each of the Mare had a large province to rule under the direction of the Royal house. In return for their cooperation each of the Mare had a voice in the Maria, the governing council that made decisions and advised the Royal house.

Absently Darien corrected his friend's pronunciation. "MAH-ray, Andrew. It is pronounced, MAH-ray. They aren't horses after all."

Darien could only begin to consider what trouble must be brewing if twelve of the nineteen Mare were coming to earth.

"I'm sure they aren't sending every member of the houses." Andrew responded, when Darien voiced his concern. "Maybe there are only twelve with daughters of the appropriate age. They won't look so much like spies that way."

"Ugh!" The prince hung his head. "So not only am I to be meat on a platter for thousands of women, I am also going to have to watch twelve little minxes to be certain that the do not stick a knife in anyone important."

Andrew smiled wickedly.

"This is unbearable!"

"I wouldn't know." Andrew said with a shrug. "I'm only the third son of a Lord so I won't inherit a penny. My only claim to fame is that I am best friends with the Crown Prince. Thus, no one ever tries to stick knives into me."

Darien stuck his tongue out. "I wish you all the luck with ladies sticking knives into you. You may have all twelve of the ones who wish to disembowel me."

"Don't be so hasty, your majesty." Andrew quipped with a mock bow. "I don't want them if they are as ugly as legend says."

Both men laughed heartily at this. No one on the Earth knew much about the Moon since it had stolen its freedom nearly ten centuries earlier, but it was said that the women who resided on the moon had absorbed some of the grey moon dust and now appeared as hags.

Darien wouldn't have been surprised if the Lunarian Princess was an air headed twit who lacked the cover of a beautiful face to lull the universe into overlooking her stupidity.


	2. One

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

**One:**

Boredom had set in after ten minutes of his mother's stupid tournament, but there were still hours to go.

Queen Victoria had decided that on the first day of the "Convention of Peace" the gathered ladies would have a badminton tournament, while the poor gentlemen who couldn't find a way to wheedle their way out of the festivities watched. The sport was a bore under normal circumstances, but it was made worse by the fact that none of the women were dressed for sport; or not for this particular sport.

They were all dressed for hunting. Husband hunting. Their dresses were a veritable array of gauzy fabrics draped in ever more imaginative ways to give the impression of hidden assets, with bows and gems and ruffles in some of the most amazing places. Each woman wore large brimmed hats to keep the sunlight from ruining their pale completions.

The whole debacle was made worse by the fact that Andrew had excused himself with some sorry lie about being needed by his father, so Darien was deprived of his ability to trade snide remarks with his friend.

"Oh darling!"

Murdering his mother in cold blood was beginning to be more appealing by the second, the prince mused as he watched his mother glide toward him with a petit blonde in tow.

"You just have to meet Princess Minako Aphrodite of the Planet Venus."

The blonde princess curtsied, a smile on her face. "Your highness." She simpered as she extended one pale hand.

The prince bowed low and kissed her hand, hardly noticing that it was the smooth soft hand of a woman who had never lifted a hand to work. "A pleasure."

"Isn't it tragic that such a lovely young lady has been our closest neighbor for so many years, and you two have never been introduced?"

Darien gritted his teeth in a smile as he looked at his mother. "Not our closest neighbor, Mother. Who could forget the lovely ladies of the Moon Kingdom. I take it they haven't arrived yet?"

He was gratified to see the Queen pale perceptibly. "Well, yes. Who could forget them." Her nasal voice was a touch higher pitched.

Amazingly inviting the Mare had not been another one of Queen Victoria's ploys to make her son's life even more miserable. Word traveled quickly around the solar system, and with a name like "Convention of Peace" the Earth could hardly turn away an embassy from the Moon.

"The Ladies from the Moon Kingdom?" The Venetian Princess quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "Surely they are not invited?" She glanced around and lowered her voice. "On Venus they say that the Women on your Moon have absorbed that grey moon dust, and are now uglier than common hags."

The temptation to laugh out loud was almost unbearable. Darien covered his mouth with one hand, and smothered his laughter with a cough. "My lady, we have the same saying here. However, this is a Convention of Peace. We would loath to exclude the Kingdom that possess the most threat to our Solar System's peace, even if they are the ugliest being that have ever seen our Sun."

"Ah..." The Princess's brows drew together in confusion as she worked through Darien's words. "The Sun. The Sun is even more beautiful from Venus, you must come and see it for yourself."

Darien had the distinct impression that the Princess had not understood what he had said, and had thus latched onto the word "sun" as something that she could comprehend. He continued to smile kindly at the girl, "I'm sure that if the chance ever presents its self I could not pass it up, but I could not imagine that anything could be more radiant than you are, Princess."

"Your majesty is too kind."

The Queen was beaming at him. It took all of the will power that Darien possessed not to inform the Venetian that she was an imbecile just to wipe that smirk off of his Mother's face. He couldn't insult her, he knew that. They needed Venus, it was too close for him to risk sending the planet to ally with the Moon.

Darien bowed and offered his arm to the Princess. "May I have the honor of escorting you to your next match?"

Her high pitched giggle was grating. "I would be honored." She took his arm.

As they began to walk off Darien felt his Mother's eyes on them. He sighed, trying to remind himself to use small words.

He wasn't entirely convinced that this young lady would have the brains to understand that he was insulting her anyway. It would take all of the satisfaction out of it.

* * *

_This is me, not the story. This one started out short, but the next chapter will be longer I promise. As usual please reveiw, critisism is always accepted and taken into account. -LS_  



	3. Two

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

**Two:**

Darien was sitting in his study, dressed comfortably for the first time that day. He was puzzling through his schedule for the next day, trying to work out how he would manage to escape the festivities long enough to keep himself fit. Waking up early, though it was something he had never had to do, seemed like the best option. All of the ladies would be sleeping fashionable late in order to have to appropriate amount of beauty sleep, but the practice fields would be crowded with all of their retainers.

With a sigh he flipped over another picture.

His mother had decided to supply him with every young ladies picture, and a description of all of her assets. So, now even the time that he didn't spend with the eligible ladies of the solar system was spent with them around.

The woman who looked back at him hair long black hair and intense brown eyes, she was dressed in red and wore a golden tiara that was studded with diamonds. The Princess of Mars.

He had met her earlier in the day, and was afraid that he didn't want to repeat the encounter. The Martian Princess was forward and abrasive, but still lacked the ability to comprehend more than basic facts. Complex words were beyond her, and metaphors just seemed to overload her mental synapses. On the other hand, she recognized when she was being insulted and she had a dark beauty that drew Darien to her.

The Martian Princess had also expressed surprise upon learning that the Mare where going to be arriving. At least three of the nine planets believed the women of the Moon to be ugly as sin. While it was comforting to know that he wouldn't have to worry about being taken in by the enemy Darien was becoming ever more apprehensive. It seemed a bad omen that the Mare were the last to arrive when they had such a short distance to travel.

Tossing the picture aside, Darien took up the papers about the Princess of Mars. He propped his legs up on the large oak desk that was littered with papers, and leaned back in his leather chair.

His study was his favorite room in the massive palace. It was small, and private so he didn't have to worry about being disturbed by unwanted visitors. He had a collection of reference books and his favorite books set in the floor to ceiling book shelves in three of the walls, and the wall behind his desk was taken up completely with a large bay window. The heavy maroon drapes were always pulled back so that he could marvel at the view. Aside from the oak desk and leather chair that the prince was currently occupying there were a few more chairs and small tables in the room.

He loved this room. Plus it had so many concealed exits that he could slip off anywhere he desired without being detected.

Darien turned back to reading about Princess of Mars, Princess Ares Tyr Hino of Mars. It was ironic that with so many names he would still call her "Princess" or if he needed to be specific "Princess Mars."

The door flew open with a crash, startling the prince from his musings.

Andrew stumbled into the room, breathing hard, as though he had just won a sprint. He collapsed into one of the chairs. "Why this room?" He panted.

Darien blinked. "I like this room." He paused to scrutinize his blonde friend, "You know you are no athlete, Andrew. Why don't you leave delivering messages to the messengers, they may not find me with your speed but they will still give me the message faster."

Andrew glared at Darien. "This is the thanks I get!" He huffed.

The dark prince gave his friend a measured look, waiting not so patiently for what ever news Andrew had deigned important enough to disturb him. He tried to repress the smile that was tugging at the corners of his mouth, the news could be anything. Perhaps a Princess spoke a word to him. "Move" was Darien's best bet for that.

"The Mare are here!"

Darien was on his feet in an instant. "Where?"

"Its too late now, your majesty." Andrew said mockingly. "If you'd been in your room like any normal person is at this time of night you would have been able to see them. Hell, I would have been able to see them."

"Oh." Darien sat down heavily. "What time is it?" He queried.

"Only one in the morning."

"Seriously?"

Andrew nodded, confused by his friend's surprise. Everyone in the palace knew that the Prince was a night cat; he had been up all night a couple of times only to sleep through lunch, to his parent's dismay.

It struck Darien that no one would be practicing at this hour, he could get in a few hours of sword practice and then go to sleep until he was aroused to make an appearance at Lunch.

"I'm going to go get some practice in, Drew. I'll talk to you later."

Darien left his friend staring after him with confusion in his blue eyes. After a moment he shook his head and yawned. "Weirdo." Andrew murmured. "Doesn't understand the appeal of a good nights sleep."

* * *

Darien changed into a light linen set of exercise pants, they moved around his legs a little as he walked, and showed off his muscular legs. For a shirt the Prince had grabbed a linen tunic with silver trim, he didn't really care about the shirt since he planned to abandon it while he practiced. In one hand he carried his sword, in the other his bow, and strapped across his back was a quiver full of arrows. 

He approached the courts smiling, the light of the full moon would give him plenty of light to shoot by... And he really didn't need much light to do pattern dances with his sword.

He strung his bow as he walked, when he looked up he stopped dead.

He was confronted with what must have been a goddess. A woman with long pale hair that fell in graceful waves to her calves stood on the archery field. She was dressed in a long white tunic that was belted at her waist and a pair of white pants. The tunic reached her knees but had slits in the side up to her hips; and the whole outfit was made of a fine flowing material that threw every perfect curve of her body into stark relief. She stood there with an impossibly large bow raised before her.

All of the color in the scene was washed out by the light of the moon, so the woman seemed to be a creature of light. She was glowing.

She knocked an arrow, drew back the string, paused, and the arrow fly.

Darien was rooted to the spot, it was all he could do to remember to breathe in and out when his eyes were filled with such beauty. Was she human or a Goddess sent to guard the earth? Had he been missing this sight all of his life?

He stood rooted to the spot, watching the Goddess for the better part of an hour. Every time she knocked a bow he loved her grace, when she pulled the string back to her ear he marveled at her strength, when she released the string and set an arrow flying he blessed her skill.

And then she unstrung the bow.

He felt devastated, she was going to leave. What if she was one of those pixies who only appeared once every fifty-third full moon when the wind was right and the planets were aligned just so? He would never see her again, he knew it.

She reached her hands back and began to bind up her hair.

The spell was broken; Darien could move. He walked over to the target to find twenty arrows nestled into the center. He tried to pull them out, but they resisted. The harder he pulled the more the arrows resisted.

"You have to cut them."

Darien spun around, startled that the Goddess had spoken to him. Her voice was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. It was pure and ringing, like wind chimes coming together to form words.

She stepped forward, crossing the grass between them so gracefully that Darien would have been surprised if she touched the ground at all. "You have to cut them. I used barbed arrows, they wont come out unless out cut them." A knife appeared in her hand.

Darien smiled dumbly at the woman; he would have counted himself to be lucky if she decided to stab him through the heart.

She looked at him strangely, obviously unsure what to make of this man in front of her. "I will cut them out, if you move your hand." She rested one hand on his, and gently moved it away from the arrows.

As soon as her hand left his skin he missed the warmth and the soft, though calloused touch of her hand.

She worked the broken arrows out the back of the target, "See." She said as she held one up in the moonlight.

The barbed tip was sharp and dangerous, sent flying from a long bow Darien would not have been surprised if it could pierce his heavy plated war armor. In any out light he would have been frightened by the implications, but with the moonlight reflecting softly off of the metal tip it looked beautiful.

She was speaking again, Darien was mesmerized by her perfect lips as they moved to form words.

"You can put poison or acid in it so that it will release once the barb tears through, but I always thought that was a bit excessive." A pause, and again her eyes got that strange look as though she wasn't certain what to make of the man in front of her. "I mean... If you are a good enough shot the target should be dead before the acid has time to release."

She bent over to gather up the pieces of the arrows, and walked back to where she had left her bow and quiver.

Darien followed, there were so many words in his head that were competing to escape. He felt like his mind was a bee hive, or a sinking boat where everyone was trying so hard to escape that nothing did. He was just waiting to drown.

"You are amazing."

She straightened with a kind smile on her face; Darien was immediately gratified that something good had escaped if he could spend his life making her smile it would be enough. "Thank you."

"I have never seen anyone shoot a bow that large before, its so shocking."

Again the smile. "You should see it on horse back; that is really amazing." She paused and extended her hand to him. It took Darien a moment to realize that she wanted him to shake it, not bow over it like a courtier. "I'm Bunny."

"Darien."

"A pleasure."

* * *

_Thanks for the reveiws. Also, thanks to srsmoon for letting me know that I had anonymous reviews disabled. I've remedied the issue, so now anyone can reveiw. -LS  
_


	4. Three

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

**Three:**

"Time to wake up and go play gracious host." Andrew started speaking before he had entered Darien's room. The task of waking the Prince from his slumber had been his for last few years. Darien was a bear when he woke up.

No not a bear, an enraged tiger.

He roared, he snarled, and he moved more fluidly around the bed room than anyone who was half asleep had the right to move. It wouldn't have been so bad if the Prince was loud and mean, but some times he was violent. He had run off more servants than his Parents cared to admit.

Lucky for Andrew, Darien also had more functioning mental capacities when he was half awake than he had the right to. Otherwise the Prince would probably have killed some one, and that some one would undoubtedly have been his blonde friend.

Andrew always waited until the last possible second to go wake his friend. Today was no exception, especially not when he knew that Darien had been up exercising past one in the morning.

"So lets not be ang... ry?" Andrew's words stumbled to a confused halt.

The curtains on all of the large windows were drawn back, and Darien was standing by one window already dressed like a Prince. He was wearing dark blue velvet with silver trim that looked spectacular with his eyes and a silver circlet.

"Are you feeling alright, Darien?"

The Prince turned smiling. "I met an Angel last night!"

Andrew offered a doubtful grin. "Sure. An angel." He decided that the stress was getting to his friend, Darien just looked too bloody happy. Not to mention that the Prince had always harbored resentment toward the opposite sex. "And where did you meet this Angel?"

"At the practice courts. She was using a bow that was taller than she was." There was s dreamy quality in Darien's eyes that Andrew usually associated with love sick teenagers, he had certainly never associated it with the twenty-five year old Prince of the Earth. "She must be here for Mother's Convention of Peace."

"Hold up Darien. Why on the Gods' earth is a lady, a LADY, running around shooting giant sized bows at a convention of peace?"

Darien shrugged.

"What did you say to her?"

"I didn't say much, but we had a connection." Andrew's mouth dropped open. "I felt it, she felt it. We had a connection."

"A connection." The blonde man nodded skeptically, "Of course you had a bloody connection. Well then let's go look for this mystery lady at your mother's luncheon, you can meet all twelve of the ladies who are going to be looking to stick their butter knives into your abdomen."

He gave the Prince a shove toward the door. "Your ladies await."

* * *

Darien was becoming a bigger fan of the Moon Kingdom by the second, any kingdom that could manage to throw the Earth's entire court so far off balance in just a few hours was worth something. He grinned at Andrew, forgetting the mystery woman from the night before to relish his Mother's anguish. 

"Do you know what is going on?"

Darien shrugged.

The two men were standing on one of the palaces sweeping, marble porches. They leaned against the railing watching as servants, ladies, and gentlemen rushed around the set up below. In the midst of the turmoil stood Queen Victoria, having a very unlady-like fit.

"I think we are about to find out, though." Darien nodded his head toward the Princess of Venus who was making her way up the marble staircase; she had obviously spotted the two men. "The Princess Minako Aphrodite of Venus." Darien informed his friend in an undertone. "She is a horrible gossip."

"Prince Endymion!" The princess raised her hand to hail Darien. She was dressed in another frothy yellow silk dress with a massive bustle and an almost indecently low neck line. She had her blonde hair piled atop her head in a collection of curls, and on top of her pile of hair she had a wide brimmed yellow hat which she tied under her chin with a yellow silk bow.

"Behold, a formidable tower." Andrew murmured.

"If you want a tower you should see the Princess from Jupiter." Darien muttered dryly. "She is as tall as you are, and with her hair all done up her hat ends up being higher than me."

"But really Darien, how does that stay up? It seems like she should topple over at any moment under the weight of her head."

"She lacks a brain, Andrew. So it can't be all that heavy."

"Still, if her head is hollow then shouldn't the weight of her hair crush her skull?"

Darien smiled. "Maybe her skull is also unusually thick." He go in one last barb before the Princess reached the duo. "Princess, you look stunning this afternoon." A court smile plastered to his face Darien bowed to kiss the woman's hand. "May I introduce my friend Andrew D'Franco, younger son of the Lord D'Franco."

Andrew bowed over the woman's hand. "A pleasure."

"Charmed I'm sure." The Princess said quietly, her eyes never leaving Darien. "Your Highness, did you know that the Moon Kingdom has sent twelve of the Mare? It is quite an achievement for your Kingdom to have attracted such a large number of the Mare. I'm shocked."

"My lady, the Mare are obviously trying to show their commitment to peace."

"The only thing they are committed to is ruining the convention." The Princess muttered. "They sent men!" She looked absolutely appalled at the idea.

Darien blinked. "Men?"

"Yes it is quite upsetting, your majesty. There are eleven men and one woman. All of your mothers amazing arrangements have been ruined!"

"I'm devastated." Darien spoke because he was suppose to say something to that effect. He was trying to work out what the Moon Kingdom would gain by sending eleven men to the convention.

Darien watched as the Princess moved off, no doubt to spread the word that the Mare had sent gentlemen, not ladies to the convention.

"Drew. What does the moon have to gain by sending men to this convention."

Andrew shrugged. "Maybe the ladies really are as ugly as everyone says they are."

Darien bit his lip, thinking rapidly. "What if they are planning on forging unions with the ladies who are here? You know, like my Father is trying to do with me."

Andrew cocked his head to one side. "Then I would have to say," He began slowly, "that the Moon Kingdom has some bloody brilliant politicians."

Darien nodded. "Hopefully they don't fight nearly as well."

* * *

The day's luncheon had been canceled due to seating difficulties. To Darien's amusement he discovered that the fatal issue had been that he was seated next to one of the Mare who happened to be male. 

The plans for a "Lady's Night" of sewing and gossip had also been canceled, but Darien didn't care much about that, since it didn't require his presence. It did give him a thrill to think about his Mother's plans falling apart around her ears.

He smiled now, just thinking about how distraught the woman must be.

"So, have you seen this Mare Serenitatis?"

"Nope." Darien looked up from his lunch. "Nice of you to join me, gentlemen." He added dryly.

The four men in front of him smiled sheepishly. "So we were occupied during the badminton tournament, you can hardly blame us for having things to do."

"Jadeite, you never have things to do."

"Maybe not things to do, but better things." Jadeite was a blonde haired brown eyed ladies man, how fancied himself above his duties as one of the Prince's guardians. One day he would become the lord of the Far East, but hopefully the events that led to that would be a long time coming. Jadeite flopped into a chair, lounging with his legs over the armrest.

"Your majesty."

"Yes cousin?" Darien looked up. Kunzite was his favorite cousin, he could play court games and still be entertaining. One day Kunzite would rule the Middle East, a tough land for a tough man.

"Your majesty, I beg that you overlook my cousin's tom foolery. You see he only has a few weeks to live."

Darien smiled. "Is that so?"

"I would dare not lie to you, your majesty." Kunzite bowed deeply. "You see, my foolish cousin is also a good friend to the Prince, and one day the Prince will be King. But I am afraid that my cousin is unable to keep his head around the Prince, so when the Prince is King my cousin's head will be..." The man looked up and smirked sinisterly. "Forcefully removed."

"Oh the irony, how delicious!" Darien guffawed. "Do have a seat cousin."

Again Kunzite bowed, long his silver hair falling forward in a shining sheet. "Your majesty is too kind." He straightened and dumped Jadeite out of his chair before sitting down.

Jadeite snorted as he picked himself off of the ground. "Forcefully removed, my foot! His highness here hasn't the brains to force fully remove my head."

A smile tugged at the corners of Darien's lips. "Cousin, I may not have the brains that you have but I'm certain that I will be perfectly able to sever your neck from your shoulders with my sword. That task only requires brute force." He quirked an eyebrow in challenge. "And besides, if I have a problem figuring it out your cousins here will tell me what to do." Darien waved one lazy hand to indicate the other three men

Nephrite, the red haired gentleman who would one day rule North America, smiled and cracked the knuckles on his hands. "His majesty has only to command."

Darien watched the panic rising in Jadeite's eyes with some sadistic satisfaction; he had always thought Jadeite's was too big for his trousers, and enjoyed taking the blonde man down a notch.

The Shitennou were supposed to be the Prince's guardians, and best friends, but Darien had always preferred the easy camaraderie that he had with Andrew to the company of his four cousins. Andrew, however, hated the Shitennou and always disappeared when they came by. Darien couldn't really blame Andrew for abandoning him, the Shitennou where viciously competitive with each other but they viewed Andrew as being beneath them.

Zoisite, the last of Darien's cousins, was particularly cruel to Andrew. Zoisite, the future ruler of Europe, had long stringy dirty blonde hair which he kept tied in a ponytail at the nape of his neck.

"So the Mare Serenitatis." Darien prompted, once he had deigned that Jadeite was properly cowed. "Isn't that where the capital is located?"

Zoisite nodded eagerly. "Yes it is. It is supposed to be a beautiful city, but then that's just based on what the Mare have said. So it could be a dump."

Darien nodded. "The Mare Serenitatis." He prompted again.

"Ah, yes." Kunzite murmured. "You haven't seen her yet?"

"Nope."

"God bless your eyes and stay away from her if at all possible!" Jadeite declared as he flopped down into another seat. "Don't look at her, lest you be blinded!"

Darien raised a skeptical eyebrow, even as he leaned forward. "If she really that ugly?"

"The moon dust has gotten to her, my lord!" Jadeite declared dramatically. "I recommend that you run to the hills now."

"I think you should begin practicing your killing stroke now, My Lord. You may need it sooner, rather than later." Nephrite said dryly.

"She isn't ugly, she is actually rather pretty..." Zoisite cut himself off with a wild look at his cousins, before continuing in a more nonchalant tone. "You know, if you like that flawless, glowing thing that the Mare have going on."

Zoisite's words brought disturbing thoughts of Darien's late night encounter to mind. What if the woman he had met was the Mare Serenitatis?

Darien thought of the slightly fluttery, giddy, tongue tide feeling he had experienced. There had been the sense of euphoria when she touched him, and he had felt like he had never felt before. He had wanted to take her in his arms and protect her from anything that would make her need to use that bow.

Witchcraft. That must be it. The Mare Serenitatis was trying to catch him off guard so that she could murder him. That must be it.

"Blood thirsty feind."

The Shitennou traded confused looks. "We weren't talking about your mother, Darien." Zoisite pointed out quietly.

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry cousin I was thinking of something else." Darien said dismissively. "So what does the Mare Serenitatis look like?"

"She has flawless pale skin that just seems to glow, even in the shadows, but she doesn't wear those big ugly hats to protect her skin." Kunzite began.

"I'd say she'll be as red as a well cooked lobster by the end of the day." Jadeite quipped.

Kunzite cast a withering look toward his blonde cousin. "As I was saying, she has huge green almond shaped eyes. When they look into you eyes you feel like she can see your soul." Kunzite crossed his chest, a sign to ward away evil. "And she has straight raven black hair that hangs halfway down her back."

Darien breathed a sigh of relief. His mysterious archer was not the Mare Serenitatis. Her hair color had been washed out by the light of the moon, but it was obviously a light color not black.


	5. Four

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

**Four:**

The archery field was empty.

Darien tried to convince himself that he wasn't disappointed. "Good." He murmured unconvincingly, "This way I can practice without some silly woman getting in my way." Even when he said it out loud Darien couldn't quite convince his heart.

He cast a forlorn look at the short bow in his hand and quickly decided to practice his pattern dances. Not because archery reminded him of the woman who was not there, nor because the short bow seemed small and ineffective to him, and certainly not because of a woman. He simply wanted to do pattern dances.

He unsheathed his sword in one fluid movement, letting the soft light of the waning moon reflect off of the wicked blade. This blade would be his best friend when war broke out. His tool to defend his life, his Kingdom, and his friends. Darien lowered the blade and looked up at the sky; it was hard to imagine that something as beautiful as the moon was home to something that would cause a war.

He shook his head. He knew that the Lunarians were evil, even if they were beautiful creatures. They held powers that humans could never dream of, and they wanted to destroy his world. He couldn't be taken in by them.

He jogged over to the dirt practice rings and jumped fluidly over the fence. He stripped off his quiver and tunic, hanging them on one of the fence posts. Then he moved to the center of the ring took a deep breath, preparing to begin his pattern dance. He opened his eyes and he dropped his sword in surprise.

There was a creature of light in a ring further away from him. It looked like it was dancing, with light flashing off of two deadly looking weapons.

Entranced, Darien clumsily climbed over the fences covering the distance until he was sitting on the fence of her practice ring. Yes, it was the same Goddess from the night before.

She wore the same loose linen tunic and trousers, but her long hair was bound in a large bun at the nape of her neck. Wisps of hair had escaped the bun, and were now flowing around her face as she spun and twirled. Flashing in each of her hands were cruel looking blades. They had three prongs, the central one was longer than the woman's forearm, and the other two where short, gracefully curved but still deadly looking.

She danced through a pattern that was more difficult than most of the dances that Darien had seen masters perform. But somehow she made it seem as though she was not practicing a deadly art, but rather flying through a graceful courtly ballet.

As she finished she looked over to the fence, a smile already on her face. "Good evening to you, Darien."

He had that disconcerting giddy feeling in his stomach again. "What…" He couldn't get the words out of his mouth, God she must think he was simple.

"What are these?" She offered the forked blades over to him. "They are Sai." Her voice was so gentle that he could almost forget that she had just preformed a pattern dance that would make his sword master pale. "They are weapons better suited for women because women are more graceful and nimble than men."

"You use two?"

Bunny shook her head; before Darien knew what was happening she had pulled a third weapon from the small of her back and was twirling it in her hands. "Three. Using two is fine, but if you have three you can throw one and not be so easily disarmed." She twirled the blade again, and tucked it back into her belt.

"Bunny."

She nodded, knowing it wasn't a question. "What are you doing out here alone, Darien?"

Darien blinked at her, completely uncertain himself. He wasn't sure what it was about this woman, but just being near her made him lose control of his mind. All he could think of was how utterly gorgeous she looked and how all he wanted to do was make her smile. "I..."

She smiled and took the two Sai from Darien's hands. He hadn't realized that he had been pointing the two blades at her abdomen until she took them from him. Why hadn't she scolded him for holding them so dangerously? Why hadn't she been frightened?

"I..." She looked up at him, blinking her large blue eyes. He leaned forward, putting one hand in the small of her back, unsure of what he was doing but completely set on it. It took him a fumbling moment to realize he was going to kiss her.

He bowed his head, and angled his face downward. At the same time he drew her body in toward his, his large hand spread wide on her back. He was acutely aware of every shuddering breath she drew, how her chest rose and fell, how her eyes widened in surprise even as her lips parted in a slight invitation.

She spun gracefully out of his hands, flipping her two sai in her hands. "Things always look better in the moonlight."

Darien hung his head in defeat letting his arms fall limply to his sides. "I came to see you." He admitted.

She nodded, not surprised at all. Maybe she understood that she would have such an effect on him. "It will be the last time. I won't practice in the Moonlight anymore, and you won't like me in the sunlight. So this will be the last time."

"I'll love you in the sunlight." Perhaps she didn't think he was simple after all. Hope sprung up in Darien's chest. He raised his head and reached on hand out to her.

"You'll fear me in the Sunlight." She backed away, moving into the shadows. In the shadows she looked vulnerable, as though the woman who radiated confidence and deadly grace had evaporated. "And I will fear what you can become."

Looking at her shrinking in the shadows Darien felt himself grow back to himself; he was powerful, he was intelligent, he was the Prince of the Earth. "I don't fear anything." He said as he took a few confident strides across the ring. He set his hands on her trim waist. "I am the Prince of the Earth. I don't fear anything, least of all you."

Darien smiled down at the Lady in his arms, desire in his eyes. He knew that with the fence behind her and his bulk in front of him she was trapped, and completely at his mercy. One hand slid behind her back; the other rose skimming across her body to cup the back of her head.

The Prince was intoxicated by the touch of her on his fingers, her smell in his nose, everything about her. He leaned his head down, to gently kiss her neck.

"No..." Bunny groaned. As she said it her hands inched their way up his bare back.

He smiled, working his way up to her lips. No one ever meant it when they said "no" to the Prince of the Earth, especially not a woman.

"No." Her voice was more forceful now. That surprised him, but not enough to make him stop. He took a step forward so that every inch of her body was pressed up against his.

And then he felt it.

Something sharp pressed up against his neck. Absently, Darien wondered how he had forgotten that the woman was holding two deadly weapons when the hilt of the third was pressed up against his hand.

"Threatening the Prince's life is an offence punishable by death." He murmured, his lips brushing against hers. "But I won't tell if you don't."

"Raping the handmaid of one of the Lunar Mare will be the start of a war with no one on your side."

Darien blinked. "You are…" He would have stumbled backwards if he hadn't suddenly become acutely aware of the knife pressed to his throat.

"Lunarian? Yes." There was a steely glint to her eyes. "I told you that you would fear me in the sunlight." As she spoke the first blood red rays of the sun flung themselves across the scene.

"I yield." Darien said quietly. "If you lower that bloody knife of yours I'll step away."

As Bunny lowered her sai Darien closed his hand around the knife she had tucked in her belt and brought one muscular arm around to twist the woman's arm until one of her weapons fell. The prince scooped up the fallen knife, leaving Bunny holding one while he had two.

Crouched in a defensive position Darien wasn't precisely certain what had prompted him to do anything besides run.

"You don't want to fight me." Bunny said quietly, she was still leaned back against the fence, holding her own weight in a relaxed pose. With the red light of the rising sun bouncing off her pale skin and hair she no longer looked like a benevolent Goddess, instead she was transformed into a vengeful spirit. "Just give them back."

"You are no bunny, you are more like a serpent."

She bowed her head gracefully, one sai spinning over her hands. "If you wish, just give me back my weapons."

"If I give them back you'll kill me."

"I give you my word that I won't kill you. Now give them back."

Darien glanced at the slim knives in his hands; he felt like an oaf just holding them, but he didn't trust the woman in front of him. He could hand them over and the lying snake would gut him right there and then or he could fight.

He would fight, there was no way that a mere woman would defeat him.

"So you won't kill me, because I'll kill you." He began to circle, forcing the Lunarian to move away from the fence.

"Don't be rash, you'll cause a war."

"And that's just what you wanted."

For the first time Darien saw surprise spring in her eyes. "Why would we want to cause a war?"

"Because you envy us."

"What is there to envy? We protect you..." She trailed off. "Please give me back my weapons, I don't want to play."

"This isn't a game!" Darien felt anger rising in him; this infernal woman had seduced him in the night and then engineered her unveiling and now she didn't want to "play." For the first time in his life Darien thought that there were indeed women who where worse than his mother. "You can't just walk away from a war that you started."

Bunny stepped slightly to the side as he charged at her, and used his forward motion to flip gently in the air so that she landed in a fighting stance behind the Prince. "I didn't start this! I tried to stop it, but you are too bone headed to figure out what is right and what is wrong."

"You played coy; you seduced me; you had everything planned!" Darien took a few clumsy swipes at the Lunarian.

She parried and blocked with ease. "How was I to know that the Gods cursed Prince of Earth was going to come strolling out of no where at two o'clock in the morning? Normal Royalty is asleep at that time!" Her blade snaked around one of Darien's, and she pulled up sending the blade flying.

The world seemed to move in slow motion as Darien watched his blade fly through the air. Bunny grabbed the hilt and settled into an easy stance. He felt his stomach sink in apprehension. He was going to die.

"Everyone knows that Lunarians have magic that lets them see the future, you knew everything that would happen."

"I have the power to see the future!" She flung her head back, laughing. "You horrible, bumbling, ignorant fool! Why the devil are you fighting me if I know every move you are going to make before you make it?"

Darien moved forward, thrusting the weapon like a sword at her heart. Bunny caught the blade between her two sai and twisted so that he lost his grip on his weapon. She flipped it over and, holding two weapons in one hand, tucked the third blade back in her belt. She tossed the second blade into her free hand and saluted with a very small, mocking bow.

"I guess it is a great excuse for losing. I would have won, but she knew everything before I did it." She shook her head. "Why are you going to go to war with a race that knows everything before it happens? Seems like the move of a stupid King."

He felt his blood boiling violently. He clenched his fists and took several deep breaths, remembering that his sword master had told him never to attack out of passion. "My father is not stupid." He spit out.

Bunny shrugged nonchalantly. "If I can see the future he is."

"SNAKE!" Darien screamed as he charged.

Bunny merely stepped gracefully out of the way, and knocked the prince soundly on the head with the hilt of her sai. She watched as he tumbled to the dirt. "Tisk tisk." She whispered as she struggled to move the prince's body so that he was reclined against the fence. "Don't they teach you not to attack out of anger?"

Kneeling beside the man Bunny cocked her head to the side; he was very handsome especially when he wasn't attacking you. She leaned her head forward and kissed his forehead, the poor man would have a killer head ache in the morning.

"I'm sorry you think ill of my people."

She stood and sauntered away, pulling her hair from its bun as she walked.

Groggily Darien realized that a blonde angel was walking away from him and it made his heart hurt. He shut his eyes again and passed out.


	6. Five

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

**Five:**

The orchestra played a lively waltz as men and women swept across the ballroom in a vivacious swirl of colors. Most of the men wore colorful tunics, so it was easy to spot the gentlemen from the moon in their black penguin suits. When questioned the Lunarians would smile and refer to the outfit as a tuxedo, claiming that the simple suit allowed the ladies to shine.

And they did. Or, at least one Lady did.

From his place at the top of the Royal dais with his parents, Darien had an amazing vantage point. Like every other man in the room, Darien was experiencing some measure of difficulty tearing his eyes away from the Mare Serenatatis. The raven haired Lunarian had dominated the ball from the moment she had entered the room, unlike her male counterparts she was not content to sit back and allow the others to shine. Dressed in a deep green velvet ball gown that threw off her eyes and emphasized her perfect figure, the Mare Serenatatis was the envy of every woman and the desire of every man. Every man except for the Crown Prince.

Darien, unlike every other earthling in the room, was not entranced by the Mare's beauty. He had seen a woman next to whom the Mare Serenatatis would look awkward and plain, he had seen this woman and nearly died at her hand. No, Darien was not attracted to the dark woman's looks but rather to the way she moved. He was struggling to determine whether the woman's grace and poise were the result of years of training at court of something more sinister.

Shaking his head, Darien tried to dislodge disturbing ideas that the Lunarian ladies could fight. Surely it was completely normal for a Lady to have a maid who was trained to defend her. The Prince knew as well as any noble that there were places that a guard couldn't go, but an obsequious servant could move as he or she pleased.

And yet he couldn't quite rid himself of the feeling that he was overlooking something important.

Darien's expression darkened as he watched the Mare Serenatatis being led off of the floor by her partner. She feigned weakness, begging to be excused as she made her way to an alcove to rest. A blonde woman with her hair in two long pigtails with buns set at the top of her head scurried forth from the servants' door. Darien couldn't make out the woman's features but a pang in his heart told him that it was his would be assassin.

"You look less then pleased, my friend." Darien looked up, meeting his friend Andrew's eyes. "Put your courtly mask on before your cousins see you. I know you, at least, believe that they have some room for compassion in those cold calculating hearts of theirs; but we both know they will rip you to shreds given half a chance." Andrew cast a casual glance toward the alcove where the female Mare and her handmaid had sequestered themselves. "You are giving them far more than half of a chance if I can venture a guess as to your thoughts."

The prince sighed, but obediently collected his face into a polite smile. "I suppose I should stop playing the part of the aloof mystery prince and spend some time with the beautiful nitwits down there."

"Princess Venus has been absolutely aghast that you have not yet succumbed to her charms. She had hoped to have you down on one knee with a proposal by now." Andrew murmured with a grin; he knew it was unfair but he enjoyed needling his friend about his fate.

"It has only been a week and a half!" Darien protested.

"And it doesn't hurt that you have another angel." Andrew said with a knowing nod toward the Mare Serenatatis's alcove.

Darien struggled not to make a face, but Andrew still saw him wince.

In the week since his last encounter with the blue eyed blonde warrior Darien had developed a problem that he couldn't seem to rid himself of. His mind strayed to thoughts of Bunny's grace and beauty, the way she smiled, the way she moved, the way she smelt, and the way her body felt pressed up against his. Mostly, however, his thoughts strayed to that haunting moonlit moment when he had leaned forward to kiss her.

Despite himself, Darien had returned to the practice field every night since. He knew that she would never be there, and yet every time he arrived to an empty courtyard his heart ached anew. Deflated, the Prince would be unable to practice for the rest of the night so he would spend the rest of the night leaned up against the fence hoping that she would appear. In the Daylight he told himself that he did it so that when she appeared he could demand a rematch, so that he could regain his honor by cutting her deceitful heart out.

At night as he hoped against all hope, washed in the dying light of the waning moon, he couldn't even lie to himself.

When he did see her it was during the day, running around running errands for her mistress. She looked completely radiant every time he laid eyes on her, so he followed her with his eyes. He hoped that he could drink in enough of her with his eyes that his heart wouldn't need her at night, while he told himself that he hated her.

The prince's best friend was no idiot but even if he was just the third son of a lesser house he was still a noble; that was something that Darien had become increasingly more thankful for. As a noble Andrew wouldn't give a second thought to the exquisite blonde Lunarian maid. Instead he concluded that the Prince had developed a fleeting desire for the beautiful Mare Serenatatis.

It wasn't uncommon; over the years Darien had lusted after a fair number of Ladies until he had his fill of them and moved on. As it was, the prince wasn't really surprised that his friend had jumped to such a conclusion, he wouldn't even have been surprised if it had been true. What shocked him was that a mere woman, a Lunarian servant no less, could have a crippling effect upon his senses.

Darien glanced back at the alcove; the aqua haired Princess from Neptune had wandered over to see what was amiss. Then he descended from the dais.

Absently, Darien reminded himself that he couldn't sit back and allow the powerful Outer Planets to ally with the Moon. His mind jumped over his actions in the last week; perhaps he had been too occupied with the Princesses from Mars and Venus. It wouldn't be to terrible to flirt with the Princess of Neptune. Assuming that he could get her alone he might even consider taking the woman to bed. She couldn't be his wife, Venus and Mars were more strategically important, but he could still be his... something.

Unbidden, Bunny's smiling face sprung into his mind. She couldn't be his wife either, but he wanted her to be.

Another blonde was soon beaming up into Darien's eyes. This blonde he could marry, and if is mother had her way he would marry.

"I thought perhaps you had forgotten me." She said with a mock pout.

"Never you, fair Princess." Darien felt slimy as he oozed charm.

"Oh I can't tell you how relieved I am to hear it! I should be devastated if you forgot me amongst the throng of ladies." The Princess was a little over enthusiastic. "I feel as though we shall never get to know each other with all of these stuffy formalities." She giggled. "You must call me Minako."

Darien pretended to stumble over the Venusian accent, hoping that she would relent if he was enough of an idiot. "Mia... Mia-can."

Impatience touched the Princess's eyes. "Try Mina, then."

It was simple enough that even he couldn't pretend to ruin the name. "Mina." Darien knew he was in trouble the moment he saw the smile playing over the Princess's face. The Venusian princess didn't have the kind, compassionate smile that Bunny had made him love; instead she had the cruel calculated smile of a cat who has its prey precisely where it wants it.

"Well, since you have a pet name for me it is only fair that I have one for you, don't you think?" She didn't wait for a reaction. "I shall call you Endy."

He wanted desperately to run; it was obvious that he had underestimated that woman in front of him. The mere thought of spending the rest of his life with this conniving witch calling him "Endy" was enough to turn his stomach.

* * *

A pair of emerald green eyes stared back at Bunny in the mirror as she ran a brush through a length of silken black hair. 

"I can't believe you are brushing my hair, Bunny."

She smiled, blue eyes sparkling with good humor. "Of course you can, it is the least you would expect from a lady's maid." Gently she pulled the brush through again.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." A silence fell as the Mare Serenatatis sat edgily on her chair in front of the vanity, allowing the blonde to brush her hair. "Bunny, please stop. I can do it myself, or we can call in one of the maids. I can't think straight with you brushing my hair."

After a few more strokes Bunny carefully laid the sliver brush on the vanity. "Don't be silly, Trini. How will you survive the next five weeks if you can't even let me brush your hair?"

"I'll do it myself, Bunny." Lady Trinity Serenatatis sighed. "I just can't stand ordering you around; you are more than my friend, you're my..."

Bunny cut the other woman off quickly. "Mother said that I was to be your lady's maid, so I'm going to do my job whether or not it kills you."

"Bunny, I seriously doubt that this is what your mother meant."

The blonde moved one slender white hand to pick up the brush once more but the Mare grabbed it off of the vanity. "I have brushed my own hair for the last twenty years of my life, I don't need a maid to do it for me whether or not the maid is you."

Bunny's lips compressed slightly and her blue eyes narrowed as she glared at the Mare, she hated to give in to the other woman but she was in a quandary. For her part the Mare Serenatatis had set her chin with a stubborn tilt as she glared back at the blonde maid. For a moment the two women sat glaring at each other, calculating how to trump the other. Then Bunny's lips twitched as a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, she struggled to suppress the smile but only succeeded in dissolving in helpless fits of giggles. She was soon joined by the triumphant Mare.

Trini turned in her chair so that she was seated sideways, and took her maid's hands in hers. "So, Bunny, tell me what you know. How likely is it that they will figure out our ruse? Who will be with us? How will we fight? What will we do?" Her hands tightened with tension.

"No one knows anything about the Moon Kingdom, which is a good thing under the current circumstances but I keep thinking that if they knew more we wouldn't be having this problem." Bunny bit her lower lip pensively as she tried to work out how much she should tell her friend.

"Will they figure out that I am the only Mare here?"

The blonde threw her head back, laughing gleefully. "Trini, they don't even know what the Mare are. They think that the Mare are noble houses that rule a province of land and have a voice in the Maria, they don't understand that the Mare are women with magic who are elected by the people in a province. And they certainly won't understand that the Mare are all women." After a pause Bunny continued. "As far as they are aware only the men have power, and you are just here to woo the Prince."

Green eyes sparkled, a degree of strain lifted. "No, I'm not here for the prince. I'm here because the Princess got some bone headed idea that she wouldn't let go of."

Bunny nodded solemnly. "Yes, she tends to get those rather often. It is too bad that the Moon Kingdom is cursed with a Princess who has a brain, maybe we should try to bring the Princess of Venus back to the Moon."

"No." Trini gasped, shaking her head. "She would absorb some of the moon dust and become an ugly hag, just like us."

"Don't you think that it is ironic that the Princess from the planet of love only cares for power?"

Trini nodded. "I don't believe anyone will ever get to marry for love again if the Princess of Venus forsakes it."

Bunny squeezed her friend's hands compassionately. "Perhaps there will be some gentleman here that can change her mind." She smiled sadly. "I would hate to see true love abandoned for power, but what ever happens here, I don't believe that you will be forced into life without love."

Green eyes rose to meet blue, sadness gleaming in their depths. "Not me, but you."

A strained smile spread on Bunny's face. "Don't worry about me, Trini." She shook her head gently, dispelling fears that had burrowed into her mind with her friend's words. "It doesn't matter anyway; I won't get married if we can't stop this war."

The two women's conversation continued with a more subdued tone. "Who will stand with us?"

The blonde's eyes went out of focus for a moment as she looked thoughtfully into the distance. "I know that of the outer planets Neptune, Uranus, Pluto, and Saturn will join us. Jupiter still seems to be on the fence, I think that is the only one of the outer planets that wasn't visited by the embassy before this blasted convention. So she has never met the Princess."

Trinity nodded. "That's still half, and the more powerful half. Wouldn't the Earth think twice about attacking us knowing that?"

"I don't know." Bunny shrugged, feeling helpless. "Venus and Mars will go to the Earth, and Mercury is firmly under Venus's thumb. So we will lose the inner planets. And... The King loves his son."

Trinity blinked in confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything, Trini. Everything." There was something ominous in the blonde maid's voice as she spoke. "The King loves his son, so he wants his people to rally behind Endymion when he becomes the King. King Edmond had a lot of trouble with rebellion after his father died, there was almost a civil war; so he clamped down hard on the populous, and he has never been a beloved king since. It hurt him, that it happened that way for him and he doesn't want his son to go through that pain."

"So he started rumors about the creatures who live on the Moon." Bunny sighed, she freed her hands from her friend's and rubbed her temples. "That they are evil creatures of darkness who rebelled against the Kingdom 10,000 years ago. He said that the Lunarians had lived on the Earth until they tried to overthrow the King. They had been defeated, and by rights should have been executed, but the kindhearted King had banished them to the Moon. So the Lunarians have been biding their time to invade the Earth ever since."

Lady Trinity's eyes were wide in shock. "That's obscene!" She gasped. "We protect them! How can we attack them if we can't even kill them?"

"Shh!" Bunny laid her hand across the lady's mouth. "No one knows that, Trini. And no one can know that, promise me that you will never tell."

The other woman nodded.

"We have been so centered on protecting the Earth that we cost them dearly, we forgot that the biggest threat to the earth is the human race." Bunny sighed, still rubbing her temples. "The King thinks that if the Prince leads the Earth in a war against the Moon he will be a savior, and so the people will always love him. They don't understand that they will lose their peaceful way of life and be fighting evil for ever."

"They don't have the power."

Bunny's shoulders sagged, defeated. "No they don't. They will kill our people and then they will die." She paused, before raising her head and straightening her shoulders a steely glint in her eyes. "I have to stop it."

Trinity worried at the inside of her cheek, unable to decide whether she should encourage the younger girl or lock her away where she couldn't do anything heroic. "Don't get hurt, Bunny." She whispered. "Your parents would kill me, and your brother would break off our engagement."

* * *

_I'm sorry it took me so long to update, I had a million things to do and no time in which to do them. I don't really know what to say here, I hope you liked this chapter and If you didn't I hope you will bear with me. I promise it will become less subtle soon. And for those of you who thought Darien seemed like a wuss in the last chapter: he was using a weapon that he was completely unfamiliar with, he will also become somewhat more like the man you all know and love, but he needs some time to get there. As always, please review even if it is __criticism__. - LS  
_


	7. Six

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

**Six:**

Darien was convinced that he was going crazy; he couldn't get the high pitched voices of the assorted noble women out of his head, and he was convinced that if the Venusian Princess called him "Endy" again he wouldn't be able to hide his flinch. He couldn't seem to get any of the princesses from the outer planets alone, and to top it all of he hadn't seen Bunny all day.

Before today the Prince had always believed that he would be safe in his own Palace, but today he had been proven wrong time and time again. He had been running around the palace all day long, searching for a place to hide. After three weeks the noble ladies were beginning to discover all of his usual haunts, it seemed as though there was no safe place to hide.

Darien pressed his ear up against the key hole to his study's door.

"Are you certain that Endy will be returning here, Kunzite?"

The Prince flinched, it was bad enough that the ladies were invading every aspect of his life but now his cousins were assisting. Kunzite had become particularly fond of towing Princess Minako around the palace in search of the missing Prince, something that made Darien regret his closeness to the man as he skipped out of rooms just moments before the pair entered.

"Princess, I am his majesty's closest friend and confidant." Darien was becoming increasingly annoyed by Kunzite's sonorous voice. "This is his Majesty's favorite room in the palace; he will return her before too long."

Letting his breath out in a huff Darien backed away from the door, resigned to finding another hideaway. He slipped into an alcove and pressed himself into the shadows as a gaggle of chattering ladies came around a corner, breathing a prayer of thanks that women couldn't seem to close their mouths for two seconds.

In the safety of the shadows Darien ran through a list of his favorite spots. Kunzite had the Princess from Venus in his study, so that was out of the question. The Princess Ami of Mercury and Zoisite had requisitioned the Library; Darien had nearly walked straight into the scheming pair and had only been saved because the two had temporarily forgotten their search in order to page through a dusty tome. Jadeite was running the fiery Martian Princess through Darien's favorite art gallery. The only one of Darien's cousins who didn't seem to be out to get him married off was Nephrite, a surprising development to be sure.

Darien detached himself from the alcove and stalked down the corridors, his mood growing darker every time he was forced into the shadows. Two corridors, and ten alcoves, later the Prince was considering running down to the kitchen to drink some heavy liquor with the only one of his cousins who had not turned traitor.

He was so busy trying to solve the puzzle of why Nephrite hadn't turned on him that he turned the next corner without thinking.

Walking straight toward him in the corridor was the last of his treacherous cousins, accompanied by the tall green clad figure of Princess Makoto of Jupiter. Deep in conversation, neither of the two noticed Darien as he spun back around the corner and searched for an escape. He barreled through the first door he came to and closed it silently behind.

Darien leaned up against the door with his eyes closed and his fists clenched as he struggled between a feeling of rage that would have him ringing Nephrite's neck and a feeling of utter despair. Sinking down, he squatted on the floor and held his head in his hands muttering softly.

The sound of a book being firmly closed startled him into looking up, fear shining in his eyes.

"I knew I should have locked the door."

The blonde angel that Darien had been yearning to catch sight of all day long was seated demurely on a box beneath the room's window. With the sun shining through her golden hair, her prim seat, and the way that her pink dress fell around her Bunny looked like a queen seated in an audience chamber, not a maid hiding in a dim storage room.

Looking at her, Darien felt all of his yearning, his pain, and his feelings of betrayal turning into anger toward the woman in front of him. "You!" He heard the surprise and the rising rage in his voice.

Bunny merely cocked her head to the side and quirked an eyebrow. "Me." She said, her tone belaying something almost superior.

"What are YOU doing here?" The prince demanded as he rose; he felt some what more powerful towering above the woman.

"I could ask you the same thing." Bunny murmured.

Darien blinked, taken aback. "I am the Crowned Prince of the Earth," He protested. "And this is my Palace! I can go where ever I please!"

She smirked. "So you choose to go into a storage room?" She didn't say it unkindly; in fact, every thing about the blonde spoke of compassion and understanding. It infuriated Darien.

"I shall report you to the Mare Serenatatis." Darien declared. "If you were my mother's maid you would be beaten within an inch of your life and then released from your position."

Bunny's mouth opened slightly, and closed again.

The dark prince savored the feeling of victory as he watched the young woman in front of him. She seemed almost lost as she slowly and deliberately rose and placed the large book she had been reading back on the box. Darien knew she must be thinking through ways to make him relent, things that she could say or do, anything at all. He smirked; whatever she offered he wouldn't relent; nothing would make him happier than to see her limping off after a sound whipping.

The blonde faced him; she opened her mouth slightly, as though she was going to say something, but then she closed it again looking pensive.

Darien felt his heart constrict at the idea that anyone would be able to thrash the beautiful woman in front of him, his anger abating. He wanted to take her in his arms and protect her from anyone who would ever dream of harming her. Maybe he would relent if she begged prettily.

Finally Bunny spoke. "Does that actually work?" She asked incredulously as she closed the distance between them. The first sparks of anger were crackling in her blue eyes.

Darien felt his anger return in a hot rage. "I'll show you how, when I thrash you myself!" He said, voice rising.

"I'd like to see you try!" Bunny laughed, now the chimes were filled with mirth. "Why would anyone stick around for a beating when they know they will be dismissed afterward?"

Darien reached out and grabbed the woman's wrist. "You little wretch!" He jerked her forward. "I was considering allowing you to run off with a warning, but now you have forced my hand!"

"It is you, sir, who have my hand. Not the other way around."

The prince opened his mouth to deliver a biting response when he heard the sound of Princess Makoto's voice in the hall. Instantly he shut his mouth and pulled Bunny close, clapping one hand over her mouth while his other arm circled her waist holding her arms at her sides. He pulled the struggling girl into a dark corner behind some boxes, and waited tensely.

"No, Nephrite, I swear I heard voices coming from this room!"

The door swung open on its hinges with barely a sound, and heels tapped on the stone floor.

"As I told you, Lita, this is only a storage room. The only people who come in here are the servants."

Darien heard his cousin's voice and sank further into the shadows, he didn't even notice that Bunny had stopped fighting him with the sound of voices.

"Who's book is that?"

Darien fought the urge to curse quietly, he had forgotten the heavy leather bound book that Bunny had set on the box. Why was it that Princesses had to suddenly become observant at the least opportune moment?

"I don't know." There was interest in Nephrite's voice. "A short history of Lunar-Terra Relations." He paused, thumbing through the book. "This is some pretty complex stuff, but so dry."

"Ugh. I don't even know what that means! Lets go." There was the sound of something heavy thumping on the floor, and heels tapping out of the room. "We still have to find your prince."

"So we do."

The door slammed.

Darien stood stock still in the shadows, everyone of his muscles taunt. Would they come back? Were they still around? Was this all a ploy to get him to come out of hiding? He didn't want to talk to the Princess from Jupiter, even though she was one of the less objectionable princesses at the convention of peace.

It took a good ten minutes for Darien to begin to relax, he dropped his arms down so that they gently circled Bunny's slim waist and he leaned back against the wall. For another moment Darien stood there leaned against the wall, feeling perfectly comfortable with the smooth soft curves of the blonde Lunarian pressed against him. Bunny was leaning back, against him, with her hands resting lightly on his.

She sighed.

"Why are you hiding, Darien?" She spoke in a reverent whisper, as though she was afraid to disturb the easy truce.

"All these women want is to wed a rich and powerful man; other than that they don't have a single thought between the lot." He sighed deeply, feeling Bunny rise and fall with his chest, and absently moved to run on of his hands over her arm. "I always hoped that one day I could marry a woman that I love, and who loves me. But this is the end of my dreaming."

"I'm sorry."

In the silence that descended both of the room's occupants came back to themselves, breaking the quiet amiable spell that had gripped them. Bunny pushed away and moved out of the shadows, leaving Darien feeling cold inside and out. He felt as though his entire body ached to hold her again. He followed her out of the shadows, and watched as she gracefully picked the book up off of the floor.

"You may hide here, if you so desire." Bunny said cordially. She swept her skirts out from underneath herself and settled herself regally on the box by the window, opening the giant book in her lap. "Just be quiet."

Darien pursed his lips, and stood silently studying the woman by the window. "How do you do that?" He said, slightly perturbed that a maid had just ordered him to be quiet.

"It's easy." Bunny said mildly. "You just sit down and read." She paused, looking up thoughtfully. "Please tell me you know how to read." She begged.

Darien blinked, taken back, before he chuckled; his displeasure evaporating and his heart lightening with laughter. "I can read. What I meant is, how do you treat me like an equal? Most people are painfully aware of the fact that I am a Prince, and thus their superior."

"Ahh." The blonde looked slightly abashed, for a moment. "You aren't a person's superior, just because you are royalty. I know many people on the Moon who are superior to the Royal Family." She smiled. "Most people are superior to the Princess; she is bull headed and often gets herself into trouble even though she is completely well intentioned."

"A well intentioned Princess, I don't believe it." Darien grinned, allowing himself a chuckle before returning to the topic at hand. "What I meant is, that I am a Prince and you are a maid, but you always act as though we are just people. How do you do that?"

"I forget." She said simply, before turning back to her book.

Darien sighed; he wasn't convinced that he would get anything else out of the girl. He contemplated stretching out for a nap on the floor, but another idea struck him.

The prince sauntered over to where Bunny was seated, "I'm intrigued by the title of your book, Bunny. Was it written by a Lunarian?"

"No, an Earthing. I got it from your library." She didn't look up as she replied.

Darien grinned. In one quick motion he had picked the girl up in his arms, she repressed a squeal as she battled between holding on to her book and throwing her arms around her captor's neck to keep from being dropped. Still grinning, Darien sat down on the wooden box with bunny in his lap.

"I wanted to read over your shoulder." Darien apologized with a sheepish smile and a weak shrug.

She turned her head to glare at him, not realizing that their faces would be mere inches apart. Immediately the glare died as she blushed and turned back to the book, compliantly holding it so that Darien could also read. She shifted for a moment and relaxed against Darien's torso.

For his part, Darien struggled to read the book that Bunny was holding, but his mind kept straying. One of his arms was still around Bunny's waist, to prevent her from toppling off of his lap, but he wanted more. He would move his free hand to turn the page and brush her hand, he would bring in back to run through his hair and touch her shoulder; the entire afternoon was a subtle dance.

He had never felt more alive, and yet there was still the part of him that demanded that he stop fraternizing with the enemy. There was still a part of him that waited on edge for the dagger through the heart. There was still a part of him that looked at the woman in is lap and tried to hate her, tried to think she was evil.

* * *

She stood by a window, with moonlight shining through the glass panes to play across her skin. She supposed that the second best thing to being on the moon was being able to bask in the Moon's light. She was acutely aware of the fact that she was doing something that her parents would frown upon, but even with the knowledge that her actions of the Earth could lead to war she couldn't seem to stop. 

Movement on the ground made her lips turn up slightly; she watched as Darien stalked across the practice fields, wondering why he returned there every night but pleased that she would be able to see him after their encounter this afternoon.

She had been pleased to see him every night since she had discovered the window, hidden in a large alcove, and stood there on the off chance that the Prince would appear.

Darien moved fluidly around the courtyard; he was graceful, he was tense, he was amazing. He stopped, in the middle of the courtyard and looked around. Bunny waited for him to sit down as he always did, but instead he stood and looked up.

Their eyes locked, shock in Bunny's expression and calculation in his. When Darien took off running it took the blonde a moment to realize his intent; she slipped out of the alcove, hoisted up her skirts and took off her high heeled shoes as she hopped down the hallway. As soon as the shoes were in her hand she began to run, skidding around corners and sprinting down the long stretches of hall way, she had to make it back to the guest wings before he caught her.

She was at a distinct disadvantage, three weeks in the Palace allowed her to know her way around without getting too terribly lost but the Prince had lived there his entire life. She had also changed her dress earlier in the day, wearing a pink silk dress she had hoped that anyone who saw her would think she was a lady out to capture the Prince's hand. The dress was disadvantageous as she scurried around, but above that she didn't want Darien to catch her in a dress that should be above her station.

Bunny grabbed a wall and flung herself around the corner, hope sprung up in her mind as she saw the door to the Mare Serenitatis's suite.

"Did you plan this, encounter too?"

Bunny dropped her skirts, raising her hands as her mouth fell open in horror; Darien was relaxing against the wall at the other end of the corridor. He looked completely relaxed, as though he hadn't just sprinted up several flights of stairs and through a dozen hallways. Bunny knew that the lighting was not good enough for the dark man to realize how fine her dress was, but once he got close enough there would be only one conclusion he could draw.

The blonde threw a wild eyed look at the door, she couldn't hope to escape into the palace, but she would be safe in the Mare's suite.

Darien, pushed off of the wall, and began to advance on her. He smiled, self assured, as he advanced. "What's the matter, Bunny? You weren't expecting an encounter?"

"I'm afraid that I can't make time for you in my schedule tonight, your majesty." Bunny quipped. She preformed a mocking curtsy, hoisted up her skirts and dashed toward the door. She yanked it open and slipped inside as Darien reached to hold it closed.

Bunny leaned back against the closed door, her heart racing. It took a moment for her to compose herself and move deeper into the suite, looking for Trinity.

"Bunny!" The blonde was surprised by her friend's relieved cry. "Oh thank the Gods! Bunny, Princess Neptune has been demanding to see you for hours! She thinks Varick is keeping you from her, and is threatening to go to the King saying that you stole from her..."

The blonde nodded; Varick was one of the men pretending to be one of the Mare on earth. He was here because he was engaged to Trinity and couldn't stand to be away from her for so long, but he said that he had come to protect Bunny from herself. "Where?" She straightened her dress, smoothing out wrinkles, and delicately balanced as she put her shoes back on her feet.

"In the study."

Bunny bit her lower lip thoughtfully. "The study is at the edge of the suite, isn't it?" Trinity nodded, she looked strained. "We'll speak in my room, it isn't grand but the possibility of being over heard is slim. No one ever thinks to eavesdrop on the maids."

"Shall I go..."

"No, no!" Bunny cut the older woman off. "I'll go. I need to say hello to my brother anyway." The blonde began to move off towards the study, but she paused and turned back to the black haired woman. "I don't want anyone around to hear me, Trini." She said pointedly.

The other woman's red lips turned down at the corners in a pout.

"No one, Trini." Bunny said over her shoulder. She walked through the suite holding herself with authority, an amazing change from the docile servant she played as she rushed around in the daylight. She mantled, like a bird, becoming something that forced people to take notice; she became powerful and athoritative.

She threw open the doors to the study to find the aqua haired Princess Michiru of Neptune looking livid. The usually quiet, fashionably pale Princess was on her feet with her cyan eyes flashing as she stared down the room's other occupant.

"Brother dearest, I'm sorry that I disappeared like that, I had some things to attend to."

Both people turned their heads to see Bunny standing in the doorway, the blonde had a commanding presence. Varrick looked relieved while the Princess was unabashedly surprised.

Bunny and her brother shared the same crystal blue eyes, but there the resemblance stopped. Varick was of moderate height, slightly taller than his fiancé so he towered over his petit sister. He had fine boned features, but one glance told you that he was too spindly to be a fighter like his sister; instead, Varick had the slightly gawkish looks of a man born to books. His features were sharper than his sister's, giving him a less good natured appearance and his silver hair was tied in a short ponytail at the nape of his neck.

The blonde crossed the room and stood on her tip-toes to kiss her older brother on the cheek before she turned her attention to the Princess in the room. "I will talk with you later, Brother. Please follow me, Princess."

She didn't curtsy, she simply turned on her heel believing that the other woman would follow.

* * *

_Howdy all. First of all, I believe there may be some confusion, and I take full responsibility for it, I must not be doing my job. Anyway, thus far the story had been taking place exclusively on Earth. Trini is not the Princess, she is one of the Mare, but I'll write more about that later. If you are concerned that Minako is evil and the inners a dumb, I'm sorry but that is all I will say and the matter. Thanks for the reviews, please keep it up. As always, criticism is accepted. - LS_


	8. Seven

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

**Seven:**

"Well." Bunny closed the door to her room firmly behind the Princess of Neptune. For a moment the two women stood in the darkness with an uneasy silence wrapping around them. Bunny smiled with satisfaction as she felt the aqua haired woman shiver, then she lit a few candles. It was a small bare room, just off of the main bedroom, perfect for a maid and hard for anyone to eavesdrop on. The wavering candle light licked the white walls with yellow and orange, allowing for warm light and forbidding shadows to exist together.

Bunny turned toward the Princess of Neptune, one of her eyebrows raised questioningly. "I cannot imagine what you said to the Mare Serenitatis; she was having a fit of well-bred hysterics." She smiled forbiddingly at the other woman, knowing that her look was made more ominous by the poor lighting. "However, you know that I do not do hysterics, well-bred or otherwise."

The Princess, who had diminished visibly from her presence in the library, shrank back against the wall. "I was simply inquiring after you." She murmured. "Nothing too terrible." Her eyes were downcast, watching her hands nervously pleat her blue skirt.

"And?" Bunny prompted with a raised eyebrow.

"And... I may have threatened your brother, and said that I would have you dragged before the Earth's court as a thief."

"A lunarian commoner stealing from the Princess of Neptune, they would have chopped off my head. Is that what you want?"

The Princess's eyes widened as she allowed her jaw to drop. "No, no!" She looked shocked and appalled at the idea, "I would never want that to happen to you, I just thought that your brother was keeping you from us."

Bunny sat on the bed, fanning her pink skirt out around her. Even seated, looking up at the Princess, as she was she had a commanding presence. "Have I ever refused to see you before?"

The other woman shook her head, sending the aqua waves of her hair bouncing.

"Can you think of a reason why I would refuse to see you now?"

"Yes'um." There was silence for a moment as the princess continued nervously pleating her skirt in her hands. She was looking down, abashed, unable to raise her eyes. "I'm sorry, your highness, I wasn't thinking."

Bunny's face softened, and she rose to take the Princess's hands in hers. "I love you Michi, you know that. But you are so on edge here you are losing control of yourself. Is it so hard to smile and laugh and feign ignorance?"

"No, I'm just afraid for you. You take so many risks, and you can't even protect yourself against them."

"I am not defenseless simply because I cannot kill a human, Michi. I can still defend myself quite capably." She smiled. "Don't worry so much, I need you to be your charming self and help me convince the inner planets to ally with the Moon."

Michiru sighed. "This would be so much easier if you would just tell them who you are."

"And give the King the tool he needs to manipulate my people? I think not!"

* * *

"So your cousins have openly turned against you, at least you know that they are being underhanded." Darien shot Andrew a dark look, but it failed to silence his rather inebriated friend. "I'll tell you one thing..." Andrew raised his mug and sloshed half of its contents onto the table. "Woops!" 

Darien rolled his eyes.

The two men where seated in a shadowed corner in one of the city's grungiest taverns, The Bell and Ox. As an escape from the soprano stalkers that had invaded the palace The Bell and Ox was perfect. The bar was a place where the clientele consisted mostly of the dregs of society; seedy dealings were constant, deadly fights were a daily occurrence, and if you didn't watch yourself you'd leave without your coin purse. Darien and Andrew were the only nobles who frequented this particular tavern and not even the barkeep was aware of who they really were. The best part was that the only women who entered the building were working girls and women who were generally up to no good.

"I'll tell you one thing…" Andrew tried again. He paused, screwed up his face as he tried to remember what he was going to say, and shrugged. "I think I'm drunk."

That prompted a laugh from Darien. "I should say so." Unlike his friend, the Prince was completely in control of his capacities. He was still nursing his first mug of mead, contemplating his two encounters with Bunny the day before.

"You'llsee." Andrew's words were beginning to slur. "Yer Father will make yer cousins woo the other princesses... Once you choose."

Darien blinked and smiled, an idea for revenge forming in his mind. "Thank you, Andrew."

"No problemo, Buddy." Andrew raised his mug to take a swig and sloshed the rest of the mead down his front.

"How are you going to get home?"

"Same as always."

Darien sighed, usually both men got thoroughly smashed; they would stumble back to the palace together, laughing as they leaned on each other and anyone who happened to be around. More often than not, someone would realize who they were and help them back to the palace where a hefty reward waited.

"Bottom's up." Darien said morosely as he raised his tankard, he really didn't want to get drunk, but getting Andrew home while stone sober was not going to be fun.

As he brought the mug to his lips, Darien's ears caught a familiar voice. "I don't believe that I'm in the right place, could you help me?"

Darien snapped his head around so fast that his neck popped; a petit blonde woman was standing by the counter talking to one of the serving girls. He couldn't see anything but her back, but he knew who it was as his heart jumped.

The serving girl paused, leaning close to speak to the blonde woman over the roar of the room.

"Ah, aint you the prettiest little dall round." A leering drunk had crossed the room to loop his arms around the blonde. "What be yer cost, dall?"

Darien felt his blood boiling; he didn't realize that he was standing until he felt his fist connect with soft flesh and angular bone of the man's face. He pulled his arm back, shaking out the sting. He looked over too see Bunny smiling gratefully at him; she pulled at her dress getting it back in order, telling Darien that the drunk had put at least one of his hands down her bodice.

Darien smiled dumbly at her, blushing slightly when he realized he was staring but unable to look away.

"WHAT THE DEVIL WAS THAT?" Darien was suddenly confronted with the full enormity of his actions in the form of a large, irate, ugly man picking himself up off the floor. "YER GONNA PAY FER THAT ONE!"

The wrinkled barkeep rolled his eyes and moved away, not even trying to calm the man down.

"Best move away, miss." The serving girl advised Bunny with a nudge, as she moved off to tend to the other less volatile patrons.

Darien absently hoped that Bunny would take the serving girl's advice; he didn't need her getting hurt because she stupidly wanted to hang around as he defended her honor. He tried to measure up his opponent; the other man had the brawny muscle structure of a man use to hard labor and he was drunk, so he would have slow reactions but he would have a lot of power. At least he wouldn't have to worry about Andrew; the blonde noble was probably passed out on the table.

"You can... can't do not'in to 'im."

Darien groaned, so he would have to worry about Andrew. It was too bad that Andrew was not drunk enough to have lost his sense of duty; he was just drunk enough to be a hindrance.

The prince took up a fighting stance, moving in front of Andrew, preparing for the drunken oaf's attack. The other man grinned, happy to be in a fight, and drew a knife. He played with it for a moment, moving in to attack.

Everything in the bar seemed to stop as Bunny burst into tears.

It wasn't that she wailed like most women did, instead she stood with her head bowed as large, almost crystalline, tears coursed down her cheeks. Darien wasn't even certain how he knew that she had burst into tears, but he knew and apparently so did everyone else. Darien watched in amazement as the tavern's occupants turned to stare at the blonde; his own opponent drew back in the middle of his attack to look at the blonde girl, and expression of pain on his face.

"I'm sorry, missy. I'm sorry! I won't 'urt 'im if ya stop, missy."

There was a chorus as the room's every occupant promised everything from their drink to their first born child to their eternal love if it would make her stop crying.

"I won't drink anymore, or lie to anyone!" Andrew cried. "Please stop crying, Miss. No one meant to hurt you."

Suddenly Darien felt compelled to try and mend things; he fought the overwhelming need to make the young woman stop crying, telling himself that he hated her. Would she stop being sad if he gave her his kingdom? Maybe he should see.

Darien opened his mouth, when suddenly his compulsion lifted.

Bunny was wiping her eyes, sniffing, a small smile growing on her face. "You can still lie, you will probably need to." She said as she gently laid one hand on Andrew's arm. "But the drinking idea is a good one." She turned, locking eyes with Darien as she smiled.

The prince felt dizzy.

Darien's adversary glared at him before stalking off, mumbling about how it wasn't worth it, and several people came forward to buy Bunny drinks or dinner. She tactfully declined each offer, and sometimes whispered things to the strangers all the while smiling at Darien.

"You can keep your first born."

"You may continue your job."

"You don't need to cut off your right arm."

"You don't have to love me."

By the time people had stopped coming forward Darien thought that he had himself back under control. "What are you doing here, Bunny?" He had tried to make it come out demanding and suspicious, but had only succeeded in sounding slightly curious and completely lovesick.

"I was looking for something for my mistress, but I appear to have gotten turned around." She shrugged sheepishly. "I feel so lost in this city; I can't even find an apothecary."

"You won't find one around here; this isn't the best part of town, Bunny." Darien found that he had some amount of control over his body as he reached over to take the blonde's arm. "You can go to the apothecary with my mother's maid in the morning. I'll take you back to the Palace so that you don't get lost." He pulled her closer, moving toward the door.

"Oy! What a preeetty miss you is."

Andrew wrapped one arm around Darien's neck and the other around Bunny's. "Ya know, I've never seen this one so worked up about a skirt 'afore." He said winking at Bunny.

Darien sighed, he had quite forgotten about Andrew. "Sorry, Bunny." He murmured. "This brute is Andrew." He lowered his voice to a whisper so that he wouldn't be overheard. "He is a D'Franco."

"A pleasure to meet you, Andrew." She turned her head to smile at Andrew only to have the blonde man lean his head forward to kiss her.

As she drew back in surprise Darien elbowed his friend in the ribs, he felt some satisfaction as the blonde man stumbled and fell to the floor like a stone. "Sorry about that, Bunny. He is drunk." Darien glowered down at his friend. "Be more careful, Drew. Someday you could get hurt." He slipped one arm around the young woman's waist and started to walk off.

"He won't make it back by himself."

Darien blinked, looking down to find Bunny staring over her shoulder at Andrew. "He'll be fine."

She chuckled, a sound that Darien found intriguing. "He won't remember anything that happened tonight, but when he wakes up in a gutter he'll know that you abandoned him for some floozy." They had stopped walking. "I'll just be more careful about who I kiss." She ducked her head and blushed becomingly as she looked up at Darien through her long lashes.

For the hundredth time, Darien cursed this woman for throwing him off balance.

"Besides, I don't want to be thought of as a floozy." She stood on tip-toe to lightly kiss Darien's cheek before she moved out of his grasp, skipping back toward Andrew.

With Andrew draped between the two, they made their way back toward to palace.

"I can't believe you cried."

Darien felt a tug on Andrew as Bunny stopped, blinking. "What?"

"Why'd ya cry?"

Darien rolled his eyes, ignoring Andrew. "I can't believe you cried, you don't seem like the weak willed female type." He glanced over. "Lets keep walking."

"It was all I could think of." Bunny replied after an awkward pause.

"Sure."

"I didn't want anyone to get hurt! I you could have taken him, but your friend here was set on making a nuisance of himself."

Darien laughed. "You were concerned for my well being?" He felt his heart rising.

"And this drunk's."

"Oh." Darien deflated.

"I could have let you fight and kept Andrew out of your way, or I could have fought with you..."

"Yer a preeeetty moony fighter."

Bunny ignored their talking burden, "But then the other guy would have gotten hurt." Darien felt Andrew's weight shift as Bunny shrugged. "It was my fault anyway, so I didn't want anyone to get hurt." She paused. "Thanks for the rescue; no one has ever done that for me."

"No one has ever gotten into a knock down, drag out, bar brawl for you before?"

"No." He heard the smile in her voice. "Nor put it so eloquently."

"I find that hard to believe."

"The gentlemen that I am usually around don't have your way with words."

"That's a shame. You aren't a real man unless you know how to speak in prose while punching a guy in the jaw."

"I'mma reeeal man!"

"Of course you are, Andrew."

Darien and Bunny burst out laughing, feeling a companionable respect growing as they trudged down the street amid playful banter.

* * *

_Thanks for all of the positive reviews, please keep it up. As always, encouraging feedback and criticism are always appreciated. As for the story, this wasn't my favorite chapter, but things are about to heat up. Later. -LS _


	9. Eight

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

**Eight:**

Tonight's dinner affair was a lavish buffet allowing food and quiet companionship. Soft conversation and the music of several ladies displaying their dubious talents filled the air with a dense murmur, that would give anyone not intoxicated a strong incentive to become so at his earliest convenience. Most women jostled for the Prince's attention while the men fought in vain for the ladies'.

Bunny faded into the background, hiding under a large potted fern and the guise of an obsequious maid. She blessed her training from her years on the Moon for preparing her for her most trying mission yet; she could fight, she could sink into the background, she could spy, she could command, she could do everything required of her. Her eyes strayed across the room to where the Prince of the Earth was flirting shamelessly with Princess Minako of Venus.

She could do everything, except hide from the Prince.

Bunny shook her head; morosely contemplating her actions over the last few weeks. Varick and Trinity would skin her alive if they knew what she did during her midnight jaunts. The blonde blew a stray strand of hair out of her face; worse than Trini and Varick was the idea of her parents' response.

Determinedly, Bunny returned her attention to her prey tonight.

The Princess of Mercury, Ami Hermia Mizuno was a petit woman, only a few inches taller than Bunny. Her dark blue hair was cut in a short bob. It was convenient, but hardly glamorous; even after a small army of maids spent hours teasing and twirling her hair into a curly poof it fell to its natural state. Her dress was also a simple design of blue silk. Everything about the woman spoke of simplicity, except for her sharp highly intelligent blue eyes.

Mercury was a small, rather barren planet who's people were devoted to the pursuit of knowledge. Even the royal family was not above spending hours getting dirty as they created some new invention, or took it apart to see how it works. With all of the emphasis on knowledge certain other things, like protection, were overlooked. Mercury had almost no army to speak of, so the small planet relied upon Venus for protection.

Bunny grinned, the Venusians would have everyone believe that they protected their small neighbor out of altruism, but they benefited from Mercury's inventions more than most. Venus would be in serious trouble if Mercury decided to rely upon another less pompous benefactor; but the silly Venusian Princess was either ignorant of the fact, or stupidly disregarding it.

Princess Ami was currently pouring over a book with Zoicite; completely oblivious to everything else in the room as the pair debated the particular virtues of classifying things as good and evil.

"It is important to have a dichotomy in order to determine which actions are socially desirable, and which are not. Granted, a person cannot be evil, but their actions can be."

"Princess, I must disagree." Bunny couldn't see Zoicite's face, but his tone of voice betrayed a cocky superiority. The blonde didn't agree with the Mercurian princess, but she knew she would not agree with Zoicite before he presented his view. "There is no good or evil, only winners and losers in the history books. If, for example, the Moon wins the impending war then history will tell of the good and virtuous Lunarians triumph over the evil humans. Should the other event occur, history will be written by the Earth and will thus be the opposite."

"That is an example of calling people evil, when it is actually the actions of the people that are undesirable and thus evil. In this instance, War is the true evil and the victors do not want to claim the evil themselves. The Moon will claim that the Earth forced them into the war, while the earth will claim that the Moon began the war; the reality of the event will fade into history, and the truth will become whatever the victor says it is."

Zoicite shook his head. "What if I believe that War is desirable?"

"Then you will rejoice in beginning the war and your opponent will not be evil, just weak."

Bunny looked away, her eyes straying to the green clad prince even as her mind spun madly on. She had seen that evil was not an idea created by society to maintain social order, there were indeed people who's hearts had died and turned their blood green. She fought such people on an almost daily basis; she fought such people because it was her duty to protect the Earth even if it meant sacrificing the Moon.

The blonde thought back to the reason why she had been so desperate to come to Earth for a fool's errand that had very little chance of success.

Yes, people could be evil. The only problem was, sometimes the evil people were the ones you would never expect.

Bunny forced her mind back to the unusual pair; their conversation had moved on as they had agreed to disagree on the nature of evil. It was getting late, so Ami excused herself.

The Princess threaded her way through the crowd, headed for the nearest doorway, not noticing the pigtailed blonde that followed her. She exited the airy, well lit ballroom, whisked along the darker hallway, and turned down another hallway.

"Princess Ami Hermia Mizuno of Mercury!" Bunny called, feeling that they were a safe distance from the ballroom.

The Princess turned, curious, as Bunny trotted forward. "I am she."

"Begging your pardon, Majesty." The shorter woman said with a deep curtsy, "My mistress is wanting to see you, Miss. She says it is urgent."

"You are Lunaian. It must be the Mare Serenitatis." The princess looked Bunny over thoughtfully, "Did she say what it was about?"

"Naw, Miss, not to me."

"Lead the way."

Bunny curtsied again, hiding a triumphant smile. She loved that as a convention of peace no one would be suspicious of the motives of another; she also loved that as a maid she was never to be feared by anyone. She led the way through the castle corridors musing over the benefits of always being a maid.

"Here we are Miss." Bunny held a door open for the Princess to enter a dark room in front of her. "I'll light the fire for you Miss." Bunny closed the door behind her self. She had bribed one of the maids into getting her a key to this store room earlier in the week; now, Bunny turned the key in the lock slowly, smiling at the audible clunk of the lock engaging. Now things would get interesting.

Bunny turned around slowly, knowing that the Princess had already been put on her guard by the sound of the lock.

Rather than seeing the pale silk clad figure of Princess Ami of Mercury, Bunny was confronted with a powerful figure.

"No Lady in her right mind would meet me in such a room as this!" Princess Mercury was dressed shockingly; her long modest dress had been replaced by a short tight sailor outfit. She had a short blue, pleated skirt with a large flowing white bow on the back the outfit's bodice was pure white. She wore high boots and gloves, and a golden tiara. "What ever you are being paid to do, it is not worth it. Tell me who is paying you, unlock the door, and walk away." Aside from the change in physical appearance, the Princess had also changed her demeanor; she was more commanding and intimidating, her mere presence seemed to wash the room with a soft blue light. She obviously believed that the weak little maid would do as she was told.

"Oh! This does make things easier!" Bunny said clapping her hands delightedly. "I thought you were going to make this hard for me, but you just came right out and now we don't have to dance around the issue."

"I'm Sailor Mercury, one of the Solar System's elite defenders of love and justice. You do not want to tangle with me." The other woman's voice was measured as she attempted to hide that she was rather taken back by Bunny's response.

"Yes, yes, of course." Bunny waved one hand dismissively. "All I want is to have a conversation with you that will not be over heard, you don't have to be so paranoid."

Sailor Mercury's fighting stance sagged as she cocked her head to the side. "I don't understand."

Sailor Mercury was easily taken off guard, Bunny noted. They would have to work on that in the future.

"Well then let me clear things up for you. This Peace Conference is only a cover for the Earth, and now the Moon, to gain supporters and allies for the coming war. Everyone has written Mercury off, thinking that you will go whichever way Venus goes." Bunny smiled in the dark, and flicked one finger so that a candelabra burst into flame, illuminating the room with a flickering glow that contrasted with Mercury's glow. "We may be the only two people on this planet who know that Mercury will do whatever you decide, and Venus will soon follow."

"You have my attention." Sailor Mercury quirked a beautifully arched eyebrow inviting her blonde companion to continue.

Bunny nodded; she had a very good idea about what was going on between Venus and Mercury, but she had been unable to talk to her informant the night before. She squashed the confused feelings that began to arise when she thought about her stunning 'rescue' at the Bell and Bull. She would have to apologize to her informant for getting him into a brawl, but she was interested in Darien's appearance in the city's least reputable bar.

"Mercury is a small planet," Bunny began, bringing her mind back to task, "completely devoted to the pursuit of knowledge, so they are less than well defended. Well, most assume they are less than well defended." Bunny ducked her head, acknowledging the blue clad Sailor Scout. "Venus offers you protection in exchange for technology, but Mercury would do very well without Venus's protection. The Venusians, however, would not survive long without your technology and only the two royal families understand the relationship."

"Now, the Princess of Venus may well marry the Prince of Earth. The King of the Earth believes that would secure Mercury and Venus for the coming war, but I know that even if they marry off their child the King and Queen of Venus will consult with your parents before they decide where to stand."

"Very smart." The Sailor Scout said, nodding appreciatively. "But why would Mercury let the Solar System believe that Venus hold the reins? My planet wants power, so your theory doesn't hold."

"Don't be an idiot; we both know that it is easier to maneuver without the prying eyes of politicians trained upon you. How much would you know if the Prince of the Earth had his big blue puppy eyes targeting you as his future match?" Bunny grinned, "Your planet has power, and is wise enough to know that it is easier to use power from the shadows."

"But the Princess Minako of Venus treats me like Mercurian altitude scum upon her shoes; if Mercury had power over Venus she should not be so irreverent." Ami pointed out.

"And it would blow your cover. Your families have either deigned that she is too stupid to know the truth, or she is an excellent actress and one of your best friends."

"VERY good." Sailor Mercury said emphatically. "Either your mistress has briefed you very well, or you are not who you pretend to be."

Again, Bunny ducked her head in concession of the Sailor Scout's point. "So, the Moon is prepared to actively pursue an alliance with the planet Mercury, the winged messenger, in which ever form you choose. We can continue to pretend that Venus is the powerhouse, or we can acknowledge your superiority."

"That's awfully nice of you." Sailor Mercury said dryly, she had relaxed enough to lean back against a pile of boxes. "But how do I know that you have the power to tell me what the Moon's foreign policy will be?"

Bunny laughed. "How many maids are willing to kidnap a Princess who can fight?"

"True enough. You must be the real Mare Serenitatis, then."

Shaking her head, Bunny smiled at the Princess; she could easily grow to like this woman with her cool head and sharp intelligence. "No, the Mare Serenitatis is indeed the Raven haired beauty that you met. She is a stunning sorceress, and a kind soul; two virtues that have gotten her elected for the last ten years. Sadly, her heart is too pure to be a truly excellent politician."

"That is an understatement." Mercury paused, thoughtfully. "Then you aren't one of the Mare?"

"Good Gods no! Who the Devil would elect me? I just pulled the rashest stunt in Lunar history."

"You did, didn't you?" The taller woman murmured as she dissolved into giggles. "Who in their right mind would kidnap a Princess in the middle of a Peace conference? That is certainly something to cause a war."

"Some one who is certain of success."

Mercury sobered quickly to glare across the room at her blonde captor. "You haven't given me any reason to support the Moon, nor have you given me any proof that you can get the Moon to stand behind your words. You may have been certain of success, but you just failed." She pushed away from the boxes, hiding a stumble as she lost her balance, and made for the door.

"You should stand with the Moon because we do not want to have this war, we are here to protect the Earth, not invade it. You should stand with the Moon because it is what is right and just." With every word Bunny grew more authoritative, her power seemed to crackle through the room. "You should stand with the Moon because we can either protect you or destroy you. You should stand with the Moon because you are honor bound to fight along side the Sailor Solider of Love and Justice, Sailor Moon."

Sailor Mercury paused wide eyed, with her hand frozen on the door knob. "There is no Sailor Moon."

"Indeed there is, and she demands that you stand with her."

* * *

_Sorry to leave you hanging, but I wanted this to be an interesting chapter. I hope it gives you some information about what is really going on; but if you are confused or have lots of ideas of what things mean... Bravo for me. Anyway, thanks for the reveiws. Please keep it up. - LS_


	10. Nine

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

**Nine:**

"Mina, have you met my cousin Kunzite?"

"Err... Yes, Endy, we have met."

Darien fought down a triumphant smile at the slightly guilty look that crossed Kunzite's face as he introduced Mina to him. "You've met! Oh dear me, have I been neglecting you, my darling Mina?" He was gratified to see Mina shift uncomfortably.

"Oh Endy! How could you ever believe that you were neglecting me?"

Darien neatly passed Mina off to one of his long haired cousins, he could hardly believe his good luck. Apparently while he hid with Bunny in the drafty store room the most trying of the Princesses had bonded with his cousins. They were still out to hunt Prince, but they could sometimes be contented to stand around conversing with the Shitennou.

As he slipped out of the ballroom he contemplated the virtues his cousins possessed for attracting women. It must be the long hair; it was the only virtue that most of his cousins shared that could be considered attractive. He paused as his eyes fell on Jadeite and Princess Mars; perhaps it was something else entirely.

He cast one final glance over the party, searching for a blonde that he hadn't seen at all that evening, and continued down the hallway.

"Drew?" Andrew De'Franco was certainly a blonde that Darien hadn't seen all day, but he was not the one that Darien had begun searching for. One look at his friend, however, told Darien that his blonde minx would have to wait; Andrew was slumped on the floor, half hidden in an alcove.

"Your majesty."

Darien blinked. His friend had never called him Endymion, the dejected formality with witch Andrew spoke said volumes. "Let's go have a drink at the Bell, Andrew." Darien tried to keep his tone light even as his eyes narrowed in concern.

"I've given up drinking."

"Since when?" Darien demanded.

Shrugging, the blonde man's answer was non-committal, "I'm not sure."

"You've got to be kidding!" He felt all of his exasperation from the day boiling up again; all he had wanted was to go spend sometime basking in the light of Bunny's smile, now he had to deal with his newly sober friend. In truth, Darien had no clue what to do with this new teetotaler; they had always gone to the Bell and Ox at the first sign of morose thinking.

"Don't worry about it, your highness. I'm sure you have more important things to attend to."

"When have I ever abandoned you?"

"But you would."

Darien sighed, squatting down in the hall way with his friend. Bunny would have to wait.

* * *

Sailor Mercury paused wide eyed, with her hand frozen on the door knob. "There is no Sailor Moon." 

"Indeed there is, and she demands that you stand with her."

The blue haired woman turned cautiously, she couldn't seem to compose her features into a courtly mask. "No one in their right mind would make such a claim." She whispered. She had meant to hiss the words threateningly, but she knew the awe in her voice before she heard it. She knew the last part of the statement, even as she struggled against it. No one in their right mind would make such a claim, unless she was absolutely certain.

Bunny knew it too; she stood poised as she watched the other woman struggling with herself. Every inch of the blonde said that she was cool and collected.

One of the only things that every planet in the solar system had in common was the legend of Sailor Moon. The legend had been unfulfilled for so long that only the royal families remembered it and even among the royalty it was more of a bed time story; it was a romantic myth that no one took seriously.

"Who?" Sailor Mercury finally squeaked.

"The Princess."

Bunny saw the wheels turning behind Sailor Mercury's eyes, only two conclusions could be drawn. The first was that Bunny herself was the Princess and thus Sailor Moon; the second was that Bunny was authorized to tell these things by the princess herself.

"So be it." Sailor Mercury nodded to the blonde woman who stood across from her. "The Planet Mercury will stand with the Moon, I will bring Princess Minako of Venus to state her planet's intentions."

Bunny nodded, tossing the door's key to the Sailor Scout. "You may speak to the Mare Serenitatis."

Sailor Mercury arched one eyebrow, but said nothing further. She had hoped for something more, something to indicate who the blonde in front of her was.

"Don't forget to drop your transformation."

Sailor Mercury winced, she had been about to open the door and step into the world as Sailor Mercury. The blonde had flustered her enough that she had almost told the Universe that she was Sailor Mercury, when previously she could count those who knew on one hand.

* * *

The smile dropped from Darien's face as he turned a corner and had to dodge the very flustered looking Princess Mercury. He tried to smile and bow, but the blue haired woman rounded the corner and rushed down the hall. Darien glared after her; he had never been so affronted by a Princess. 

He tried to shake it off, he had something to do. He hadn't wanted to waste his time in idle chatter with a besotted princess anyway.

Darien began pacing the hallway, hoping to remember where he had come across Bunny reading. It was the only place he had any hope of finding the blonde, otherwise he could only tear the palace apart looking for her. If she was hiding in the store room again things would be easy.

After a few minutes his impatience got the best of him; the element of surprise be damned, all he wanted was to dump the petit blonde in his lap and talk to her for hours. He began opening doors, one after another. At first he would open the door, slip into the room and look around; but soon he resorted to opening the door and sticking his head in. It wasn't until after he had moved on that he realized that there had been a person in one of the store rooms.

Darien grinned, and back tracked.

There she was; seated primly on a box, staring sadly out of the misty glass window.

"Bunny!" He felt her name leave him in a rush, like a prayer of thanks.

She turned, sadness in her eyes as she looked at him. "I'm sorry."

"No." He didn't know what she meant, but the look in her eyes pulled at his heart strings. He would have said anything to make her smile. "Don't be sorry." He had crossed the room in three strides; squatting down next to the box he took her small hands in his. "Don't be sorry for anything, Bunny."

"I'm sorry."

He rose, moving slowly, still grasping Bunny's hands in his.

"Dance with me, then." He grinned, pulling her up into his arms. "I'll forgive you anything if you dance with me." He had both arms around her waist, not the best form for dancing but it allowed him to keep her close. He started to rock gently back and forth, humming a waltz as he rested his head on top of hers.

"Forgive me life." The blonde whispered into his shirt. She took a deep breath, relishing Darien's completely masculine musky smell.

Darien grinned. "Never." He gently kissed the top of her head. "If I forgave you for living it would mean your life had been contrary to mine, but it has only brought me hope and happiness." He paused, considering. "I love you, Bunny." He heard her gasp and felt her stiffen almost imperceptibly. "I found a friend when I expected only misery. I found a woman who can think for herself when I expected only airheads. I found a woman who doesn't defer to me, even though I'm above her station. I found love. I found you."

"Darien." Her voice sounded strained, broken even.

"Stay with me, Bunny. Stay here as my soul mate. Stay with me." She started to move away, but he tightened his grip on her waist. "Stay with me."

There next moment seemed to stretch out for an eternity; they had stopped moving, the weight of the Prince's request bearing down upon them. Darien stood with his heart in his eyes while Bunny stared at his chest, her imagination flying to a happy future with children and love.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say yes, wanting love. "It can't work." Darien's grip sagged, and she tore away. She moved to the window; standing with her back to the Prince she was shocked that the dreary weather outside mirrored her mood. "You are the Crown Prince of the Earth, and I'm..." Her voice broke.

"You are a maid."

"I'm Lunarian." Silence reigned between the two, draping misery over them. "It can't work."

Darien turned away, running one hand through his hair in frustration, and began to pace. Once again he felt the bars of his gilded cage around him. He growled as he paced, never looking at the girl by the window. "I'll abdicate."

"No you won't."

"Why not? I don't want to be King, I don't want the responsibility or the power. I'm obviously not fit for the job, since I love you. And to top it off, I don't care about the people." He spoke to the boxes, afraid that if he looked at her she would see that he could never do it. Afraid that he would have to admit it to himself.

"That may be true, but you still love your parents too much to disappoint them so." The blonde spoke to the window, unable to meet her love's eyes over her deceptions. "Besides," There was a faint smile in her voice as she continued. "I think you do care, and you will be an amazing King."

Darien stopped moving, no one had ever said that to him before. He turned slowly; waiting for the young woman to laugh at her excellent joke, hoping that she would do it soon so that it would be less painful. "Really?"

"Really."

Darien turned back to the boxes again; he rammed a fist into one in irritation. "If only you were a Princess!" Why did the only woman who understood him have to be the one that he couldn't have.

"It still wouldn't work." Bunny sighed, wiping tears off of her cheeks. It was ironic that the Princess of true love would marry Darien and force three people to lose love. "If I were the Princess I would be your worst enemy, the embodiment of everything you hate and fear. If I were the princess you would use me, and cast me aside. Even if I were the Princess, we would have less than we have now."

Darien felt something feral stirring deep with in him; he released a throaty growl and crossed the room. With out thinking he took the petit blonde in his arms, leaned her back, and kissed her. For a moment she resisted, surprised, but then she gave in to the passion.

They finally broke away, gasping.

"Stay..." Darien gasped. "Stay as my lover, since you can't stay as my wife."

Bunny shook her head; it was hard to do with his taste lingering in her mouth and her heart pounding in her chest. "I love my home, and my people. I can't." Bunny started to move toward the door, aware that if she spent much more time with the Prince she would agree to something that could never work. "I can't." She murmured, more for herself than him.

"Fight for it."

Bunny turned, meeting Darien's eyes for the first time. "What?"

"We'll have a tournament. If I win you stay, if you win you can go."

Bunny was shaking her head before he finished speaking. "It's my life, Darien, not something you can wager in a bet. It's MY life."

"No wager then, just for fun." Darien tried to grin, he knew he failed. "Let me try to regain my honor, you beat me so soundly last time."

Bunny nodded and slipped out of the door.

* * *

_I'm sorry it took me so long to update, I've been busy. I know it is no excuse, but that's all I've got. I've been working on the overall plot for this story, and I must say I like the way it is going to go; I hope you do too. So, tell me what you thought of this chapter, the good and the bad. Thanks for all of the reviews, the last chapter between Ami and Bunny was one of my favorites to write. You will get your reasons for the Lunarians wanting to protect the Earth, but not in the near future it comes at a specific point and I'm not going to change that for you guys, sorry. I'm using Maria as the parliament/congress on the Moon, but it comes from Lunar Maria (singularly Mare, the large dark basalt plains on the moon). - LS  
_


	11. Ten

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

**Ten:**

She took a deep breath, filling her lungs almost until it was painful, and let it out in a heartfelt sigh as she leaned her head back so that it rested on the lip of the tub. Her long, damp, blonde hair fell over the edge reaching down it pool on the floor. "This feels so good." She moaned, gently stretching her muscles in the warm water.

"Please hurry, my Lady!"

She opened her eyes enough to gaze up at her nervous maid through her long, dark lashes.

"What if he comes, my Lady?"

The blonde sighed and rolled her eyes; she was afraid that she would have to tell her parents that this maid had not been properly trained. It was always painful to do that to the girls, but she couldn't have anyone endangering the embassy.

"He won't come."

The sound of the third voice was reassuring; the blonde grinned and relaxed again. "I was wondering where you have been hiding, Amaya. Do you have anything interesting to report?"

"Don't I always, Princess?"

The blonde's grin grew. "Misty," She addressed the skittish maid. "You may leave us now." The two remaining women waited in silence for a few moments until the Princess broke in with a gentle murmur, "You failed with that one Maya. She is so skittish it seems as though she has never laid eyes up on my spy master."

"Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Who has told you that being skittish is undesirable, Minako?"

The princess heard the grin in the other woman's voice without opening her eyes. "Meany."

"I'm surprised at you, Minako." The woman's dry tone was anything but surprised. "You weren't going to tell your parents that she is unsuitable, where you?"

The blonde blushed, sliding further into the water. "Never."

"Glad to hear it." The smirk remained in the other woman's voice. "I would hate to eliminate an asset simply because you started thinking, Princess."

"Ai! Ai!" Minako waved one manicured hand dismissively, relishing Amaya's dissatisfied hiss as a few rose scented water droplets landed on her. "You said you had news, Maya. Please, don't leave me in suspense!"

"The prince is in love."

Minako screwed her face up in dissatisfaction. "I'm the princess from the planet of love for Aphrodite's sake! I do NOT need a spy to tell me that, Maya!"

"I didn't think you did, highness." The other woman paused slyly. "But do you know WHO he is in love with?"

The blonde's eyes snapped open and she sat up, sending a violent wave of water cascading over the side of the porcelain tub. "Who?"

Amaya Uzuku didn't look like a woman who would be capable of performing a single deceitful act let alone running the espionage operations for an entire planet. She had a wide, honest face that was framed by an unruly mass of pink curls. Her short, plump stature lent her an almost childlike innocence.

"Who indeed." The shrewd, dry voice that came forth from the woman's mouth would have seemed out of place to anyone who was not in the Venusian inner circle.

The blonde princess narrowed her eyes, affronted by the other woman's tone. "Don't play with my Maya! If we are going to stop this silly war we need her on our side!"

"And that is the beauty of it." The woman's self satisfied grin and knowing eyes didn't match her stature either. "She is a Lunarian."

Minako's mouth dropped open, revealing a surprisingly wide mouth behind her small lips. "Lunarian?" Hopeful plans spun behind the woman's eyes and a smile blossomed over her features. "That is a stroke of luck! If the Prince marries the Mare Serenitatis then there will be no war..."

"You still think too much like a pacifist and a noble, Mina dear." Amaya broke in. "I never said that it was the Mare, and I most certainly never said that she would have him."

The princess blanched.

"Have you sensed anyone from the Moon that is in love Mina?"

"No, but..." Common sense and a desperate wish for a happy ending battled over Mina's features. "That doesn't mean anything. All of the Planetary princesses and several of the ladies here can shield themselves against my powers; the Mare Serenitatis is rumored to possess stunning healing abilities, why wouldn't she be able to shield herself too?"

The plump woman nodded, and handed the princess a plush yellow towel. "I'm sure that the Maria can and do shield themselves but the fact remains that she is not the one, Minako. The Prince has fallen in love with a maid."

"Damn." The blonde's head fell forward in defeat. "All of this work to figure it out, and it won't help one bit. Why in Aphrodite's name does the heart have to be so illogical?"

"You haven't heard the worst part yet."

The princess groaned. "I don't want to know."

Amaya's mouth tightened almost imperceptibly; she had been friends with the Princess of Venus since they had been small so she hated laying such a burden at her friend's feet. In the end they both had their duties, and they had long since past the point where they could be friends. "Who is the most likely to start a war?"

"A lover scorned."

Amaya nodded, and stood watching as the Princesses hope for a happy ending was shattered.

"The Lunarians are a heartless bunch." Minako growled. "Leave, Maya. I have work to do." The Princess waved her right hand dismissively when she heard the soft rustle of fabric indicating that the spy had curtsied.

"Ai." For a moment the Princess was lost, standing in the middle of the bathroom gently massaging her temples with one perfectly manicured hand. Things would become a lot more interesting now if the spy's words were true.

She shook off her stupor and slipped on an orange silk kimono. For a princess the kimono was frightfully bare. It was nothing like the heavily embroidered sets that the Princesses of Venus and Mercury traditionally wore at court, but it had always been Minako's favorite. The only decoration on the outfit was a gold brocade chain of hearts that wound its way up from the bottom hem of the kimono and wrapped around the right arm all the way to the end of the sleeve.

Rather than have a maid tie her obi into a complex knot to close the kimono the princess merely wrapped a length of sheer silk around her waist several times. She tied it off and hid the knot in the folds of fabric. She also gathered up her damp hair and secured it in a bun with two orange lacquered sticks.

Flinging the bathroom doors wide she took some pleasure in the jarring crash as the doors banged against the walls.

"Misty!"

The black haired maid skittered around a corner, bobbing into a curtsy before she had stopped moving. "My lad called for me?"

"See that I am not disturbed." Minako rushed into the tiny study attached to her suite, slamming the doors behind herself, "All that work!" She plopped unceremoniously into a chair.

She hadn't meant to be so short with Misty; the poor girl hadn't been around long enough to learn the princess's moods.

"All that work!" Mina growled again.

As the princess from the planet blessed by the Goddess of Love, Minako had two goals in attending the Convention of Peace. She had hoped to influence the Prince into choosing a bride out of love by showing him how terrible life could be if he married for power. The rulers of Venus and Mercury had also hoped that their daughters could find a way to avert the looming war.

Minako pounded a fist against the wooden side table; she hadn't realized that her hands had curled into fists while she thought. It seemed ironic that a woman who was generally known for being even tempered and kind could be thrown off the handle so easily.

"Heartless. They are absolutely heartless."

If Amaya's information was correct then Minako would fail at both of her goals, and possibly be forced into a loveless marriage.

Prince Darien falling in love with the Mare Serenitatis would have been like a dream come true; he could have married for love and gained a powerful ally for the Earth in the process and the pair would have made a picture perfect couple. On top of that, there would be no war with such an alliance. The Earth and the Moon would sign a treaty and finally be able to put the past behind them.

But no.

A marriage to a commoner, Lunarian or otherwise, was completely out of the question. However, if the woman that Prince Darien loved was in fact playing with his emotions then war was guaranteed, and Venus would have to side with the Earth.

Everyway she looked at it, it seemed as though Amaya's information was correct. When people blocked her from reading their emotions Minako only sensed nothing, so she know who was blocking her and who was not, the only emotions she got from the Lunar maids were indifference. That meant that one of them was being ordered to play with the Prince's emotions in order to ensure a war.

Minako clenched her teeth.

No one had the right to play with another person's heart like that. Moreover, no one had the right to play with her heart like that.

She had to speak with the Princess of Mercury.

The study doors opened with a crash, startling the princess out of her thoughts. There was fury gleaming in her eyes when she looked up to see her black haired maid cringing in the doorway.

"I'm sorry my lady!"

"Don't apologize Misty. Minako wants to see me above all others, especially right now."

Thinking that someone was reading her thoughts the blonde princess rushed across the room to embrace her friend. "Ami! I was just thinking about you!" Her anger from a moment before was forgotten.

"And here I was beginning to fear that you had forgotten me."

"Never!" Minako replied emphatically; she embraced the short blue haired woman once more before leading her to a seat. It wasn't until both women were seated that Minako's heart began to race. "We get a break from the festivities tomorrow, I'm so relieved! Who would have thought that it would be so taxing to be a brainless twit?" Mina knew that she was chattering nervously, but it had suddenly struck her that she could destroy a long standing alliance with a few words here and now.

Mercury and Venus had been in a mutually beneficial alliance for generations. The peace and flourishing trade between the two planets had allowed the two crowned princesses to grow up together as best friends; they had played together and even shared a few tutors. Now that the girls were older, however, their friendship was tied to duty. Indeed, everything in their lives was tied to their duties to their people and their position. If the Venus stood with the Earth and Mercury chose the Moon they would break a century long alliance, and a very dear friendship.

"Did you hear why?" Minako rushed on before her friend could open her mouth. "It seems that one of the Lunar warriors has been boasting a little too loudly about his prowess. Prince Darien will have none of it, so..."

"So the Moon is making trouble for everyone."

Mina blinked dumbly at her friend, trying to digest the other woman's words. The Princess of Mercury wore an enigmatic smile and her usually warm eyes held a hint of coldness.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Minako smiled at her friend. "Venus will stand with the Earth."

* * *

"A battle tomorrow?" 

Darien grinned uncertainly at his friend, "It will be all in good fun Drew, no one will be hurt."

"Right." Andrew scoffed raising his water goblet in a mock toast. "It will be heralded as the first battle in this Gods damned war, but... It's all in good fun. So who is the unlucky chap that you are going to trounce?"

"Not a chap Drew."

"Sorry. That does sound a bit chummy doesn't it?" Andrew grinned mischievously, "Who is the unlucky sack of filth that you are going to trounce."

"That unlucky sack of filth, as you say," Darien began dryly. "Is the kindest soul I have ever met. She is my Angel." Darien's eyes took on an unfocused cast as he ran through the mental gauntlet between love and duty. The Prince was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice his friend spewing water from his nose.

"You are going to fight the Mare Serenitatis?" Andrew gasped incredulously.

"What?" The dark prince was startled into back into the real world. "No! No... No. Not the Mare. What kind of idiot would I have to be to fall in love with a Lunar Mare?"

"That's what I'm..." Andrew paused, his forehead wrinkling as he began to comprehend the Prince's words. "You aren't in love with the Mare Serenitatis?"

Darien launched himself off of the balcony that he had been leaning on and began to pace. "Noo! I can't be the normal kind of idiot who falls for the beautiful noble. I have to be the idiot who falls in love with the one who could kill me." He ran one hand through his already tousled hair and wished for a more destructive way to release his frustration. "I mean, she is a _maid_ for Ceres's Sake!"

"A _maid_ Darien?"

"Or a bodyguard... Perhaps she is even a spy. You know that would make sense."

"Dammit Darien, you can't just stand calmly by and let a spy go back to the Moon to tell them everything!" Andrew had moved in front of his friend now, blocking Darien's way.

"I can't let her go." Darien's blue eyes snapped into focus n his friend's. "What do I do?"

"Arrest her!" Andrew closed his mouth before the words could escape. He had never seen such a desperate and confused look in his friend's eyes before. "You really love her?"

The blonde man loosed a heavy sigh at Darien's solemn nod. "Then I don't have an answer for you, Darien. If there is a war I will have to fight, and even my position as your friend won't save me from being tossed into the front lines. As a man who is certain to have to fight in a war, should it occur, I say arrest the bitch and marry the girl from Venus. Maybe the Lunarians will think twice before blindly attacking a planet with powerful allies."

"But if I said that I would not be true to my friendship with you. I know you Darien. If you betray the woman you love then you will never forgive yourself and you will never be happy. So as your friend I would say, if you truly love her have the strength to let her go."

* * *

_Sorry for the wait. The next one should be up soon. -LS_  



	12. Eleven

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

Because I was a bad girl and didn't update for so long here are some notes before I begin.

The Maria (Singular: Mare) are elected representatives from each of the provinces on the Moon. They are all women with magical abilities, and they have some say in how the government on the moon is run. Sort of like the English Parliament before the royal family lost all of its power. So the Mare Serenitatis is the elected official from the province Serenitatis. Her real name is Trinity and she is engaged to Bunny's brother.

A Qipao is the traditional Chinese dress. They are traditionally fitted, long dresses with cap sleeves and slits up both sides to the thigh. Some people call the Chinese (or Japanese) tea dresses. If you Google qipao you can find a picture.

Thus far the Earth is 4 weeks into it's Convention of Peace. Darien is suppose to choose his bride at the end of the convention, his Mother and father are rooting for Minako of Venus. BUT some people from the moon crashed the party and Darien as fallen in love with one of the maids, Bunny. He challenged her to a competition of skills which will take place in the morning, and now he is struggling with what to do next. Also the Planetary princesses are trying to figure out where to allign their planets for the coming war between the Earth and the Moon, while they struggle to stop the war before it starts. Ami of Mercury has recently learned that Sailor Moon exists... And now the next chapter...

**Eleven:**

"Venus will stand with the Earth."

Ami felt as though her eyes were impossibly wide. Shock didn't even begin to cover her feelings at the moment. "Is it official? Who have you told?" Questions popped into her mind in a panic, threatening to overwhelm her senses.

"No, I've only told you." Minako's voice belayed her confusion even as she struggled to keep from knitting her brows together. Of all of the reactions that Ami could possibly have had this sudden incredulous surprise seemed to be terrible. "Ami, what's wrong?"

Ami tousled her blue locks and smiled tensely at the other woman; she wasn't sure whether to laugh from relief or shout in anger. "We may be honor bound to stand with the Moon on this one, Minako."

Now it was the blonde's turn to drop her jaw and her widen her eyes in shock. "But you just..." She stammered uncertainly. "You said..."

"I know what I said Minako." Ami's voice sounded strained and the slightly cold look was back in her eyes. It was then that the Venusian princess recognized the emotion for what it was. Fear.

"I didn't choose a side because there is no clear choice for me to make. There is more at stake here than it originally appeared."

Minako had lost the battle with her face, and now appeared to be completely confused. "I don't understand."

Ami sighed heavily, her head dropping as she abandoned the perfect posture that she had been trained into and slumped forward. "The way we choose to align ourselves now will change the fate of the universe for many years to come, it won't just effect the outcome of a petty interplanetary war."

The blonde was shaking her head in denial. "No... No, It's a simple choice. I'm not prepared to make a decision that will effect the Universe; but a little one. I can make a little choice. As the Princess of Venus and the Sailor Soldier of love I an bound to fight against any kingdom that would play with an innocent man's heart for the sake of a war. I can't let the Moon get away with that."

"What are you saying, Minako?"

"Amaya told me. The Earth's prince has fallen in love with one of the Luna Maria's maids, but she is just using him to ensure a war will occur." Minako had tears in her blue eyes, making them luminously with emotion.

"Why would the Moon need to manipulate a man's heart to ensure an enevitable war?"

Both Ami and Minako jumped at the sound of a third voice.

"Princess Mars!" The Venusian Princess hurriedly rose to her feet; she self consciously raised one hand to her hair as she scrutinized the stunning Princess. Ares Tyr Hino of Mars was a legendary beauty with a dark fiery quality that the Princess of Love lacked even on her best days. Today, the Martian Princess could only be described as dazzling. Her hair moved freely around her in shimmering ebony waves that through off her dark eyes. She wore a fitted, sleeveless qipao made of red silk with a golden phoenix embroidered across the front so that the flaming tail lipped at the dress hem. Minako felt suddenly inadequate next to this woman's causal beauty.

"Really, Ami. You and I both know that the only way to start a war is to attack." The Martian's ruby red lips curled in a grin. "All of this bowing and scraping in courtly fashion is just for show."

"I thought you said you wouldn't be able to make it tonight, Raye?" Unlike Minako, Ami hadn't stirred from her chair. She remained primly seated with her eyes almost closed as she watched the new arrival through her eyelashes. Even though she was faced with the planetary princess who had the most notoriously short temper, Ami seemed surprisingly calm.

"My rendezvous was unavoidably cut short."

"It seems that Lord Jadeite has too many commitments for his own good." Ami said innocently, "But I suppose it is to be expected from such a notorious ladies' man."

Minako sat down, shrinking back against her chair. She fervently hoped that she would be forgotten when Princess Ares Tyr Hino of Mars lost her hold on her short temper.

"He's a ladies' man?" Princess Mars asked with feigned innocence. "Ah well, I will have to take your word on that since you have so much experience with Lord Zoicite, the ultimate ladies' man."

"I... I..." Ami blushed a bright red and loosed a muffled murmur of "You win." Before hiding her face in the sleeves of her blue kimono.

The fiery princess burst out laughing as she rushed over to the blue haired girl. "I always win, Ams! You just aren't cut out for torrid affairs with delicious male specimens. That's why I picked such a charmingly safe one for you."

"RAYE!"

The two women embraced; the Princess of Mercury was still a shocking red and the Princess of Mars was still giggling mischievously.

Ami's eyes rested on her incredulous blonde friend. "Oh! I'm so embarrassed, I don't believe you two have met." Ami disentangled herself and rose from her chair. "Minako this is Raye, Raye this is Minako."

Minako blinked at Raye as the Martian extended one hand towards her.

"You shake it, Minako." Raye said gently. "As a Martian form of greeting your equals, I think it is much more efficient than this silly bowing and scraping." In a moment Raye's attention had turned back to Ami. "So, have you told her?" Raye took Ami's seat and swung her legs over one arm of the chair so that she was reclined across it.

"I was getting there."

"Oh please get it over with!" The Princess of Mars pouted over dramatically. "I have some words to say to the woman who is going to ruin my life."

Minako winced; at present, she and Raye were in a competition for Prince Endymoin's proposal.

"Oh not you, dear!" Raye said airily, "You are welcome to the Prince, I have my eye on a more interesting... Catch." She grinned.

"Oh I don't..." Minako began to protest but the Martian continued to speak.

"Though I don't see why anyone would want him..." She tapped her chin with one red lacquered nail. "He's a bit stuck up and stand offish, wouldn't you say?"

"If it is not me, who is ruining your life?"

"Ami!" Raye whined.

"Oh stop being so over dramatic! No one is ruining your life." Ami sighed and rolled her eyes as she knelt on the floor. "If you two would just close your mouths for a few minutes I will explain everything before we have to go."

"Go?" Minako bewilderedly repeated. For the first time in her life the Venusian Princess felt the conversation running away without her; as a princess she had always been the center of attention, thus she dictated the ebb and flow of conversations. Feeling things move on without her was frightening... and exhilarating. "Where are we going?"

"To see _her_."

"Who? The one who is going to ruin your life?"

Ami groaned. "If you two would just shut up I'll tell you!"

"I like this one." Raye said with a grin. "We will have great fun ganging up on you, Ami." She winked at the blonde, "Under less stressful circumstances, of course."

"Please?"

Raye and Minako traded a look, but they obediently quieted down.

"When I was little my Mother used to tell me a bed time story, she called it The Prophecy." Ami began speaking with her head tilted down, so that her eyes were hidden in the shadows of her hair. "I don't know if she ever believed it herself, but it was a wonderful story full of everything a good story should have. It said that..."

Minako interrupted. "It said that one day in the future the Universe will be threatened by evil. When this time came there would be born a woman from the Moon who would have the power to unite the Sailor Soldiers from the planets in the solar system. When she comes if the planets do not stand together as one the woman from the moon will be destroyed by the man she loves, and evil will conquer the universe."

"Ah. So you've heard it too."

Minako nodded, "Our parents shared everything between them, Ami. I am hardly surprised that a bed time story managed to get from your mother to mine."

"That's true." For the first time all evening Raye seemed somber. "But how would it get to my mother?"

"What?" Minako blinked. "Well you and Ami are friends, so your parents..."

"We only met a few years ago, Minako." Ami interrupted. "Do you know the rest of the story?"

Minako nodded dumbly, she felt as though she had just had the breath knocked out of her. How could a fairy tale get from one planet to another in the same form without some amount of truth behind it.

* * *

"This is where I leave you, Darien." 

"No."

Andrew gave his friend a half smile, "No matter how much you want me to I do not have the answer you seek. And besides, I see your cousins coming." Andrew started to turn away, but he stopped. "The only advice I can give you is to not tell you cousins what you have told me... If you do, your angel will be dead before the sun rises in the morning."

_

* * *

"Mama, tell me the story again."_

_"Ai, Minako. There are so very many stories. Which do you want to hear?"_

_"You know!"_

_"The Prophecy then?"_

_"Hai."_

_The side of the bed depressed with the weight of Minako's mother sitting down. "If I tell you, will you be a good girl and go to sleep for your nana?"_

_"Hai."_

_"Alright then."_

_Minako moved over and let her mother crawl into the bed with her; the best part of this story was that her mother would wrap her arms around the little princess and hold her close while whispering the story. It was like a great secret that only the two of them could share._

_"One day in the future there will come a time when evil threatens to takeover the universe. The first battle will be here, in our solar system. It will be a battle so heated that even the frozen Princess of Pluto will feel the heat of it, and she will come back from her place outside of time to take part in the war."_

_"But don't let this scare you, darling, because there is a salvation."_

_"When this time comes a woman will come from the Moon wilding powers that even she cannot understand. She will be called Sailor Moon and she will unite all of the Sailor Soldiers from the solar system to fight with her for love and justice."_

_Minako would always interrupt here, "Even Sailor Venus?"_

_"Of course, Love. I'm sure that Sailor Venus will be great friends with Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus will be pleased to be called to stand up with Sailor Moon to protect her home. With all of the Sailor Soldiers united in friendship evil will have no chance against them, and they will beat it back"_

_"Sailor Moon will fall in love with the most handsome of men, and he will fall in love with her... But if they fight it will bring ruin to the Solar System, because soul mates are not meant to be at war with each other. The Moon will glow red with the fury of their hearts breaking in battle, and the air will be filled with the wailing of souls in conflict. Sailor Moon will be killed by the man she loves. If the Sailor Soldiers fail to stop the fight the solar system will be destroyed, and evil will engulf the Universe."_

_Minako shivered, no matter how many timed she heard the story it seemed so final. Her mother kissed Minako's forehead, and squeezed her arms tightly around the little princess._

_"But they will be granted one last hope to come together and save the Universe. A great love cannot be allowed to die such a death. Should the Sailor Soldiers fail they will be reborn through the love of their parents, to have one last try to come together as one to save the universe. But they will be doomed to fight so for the rest of their lives."_

_"So little one; should the Moon and the Earth ever meet in battle send for the Sailor Scout of love as quickly as you can, because theirs is a battle to destroy the Universe." _

"Who?" Minako let out a strangled croak.

"The woman I spoke with said it was the Moon Princess."

"Is she disguised as the Mare Serenitatis?"

Raye shook her head. "Have you ever met the Mare Serenitatis?"

Mina tried an uncertain grin. "Then she isn't here. Good."

Ami rose from the floor. "It's time to go." She traded a worried look with Raye. "We have a meeting with the Mare Serenitatis to discuss where our loyalties will lie in the coming war."

"What if it isn't true?" Mina said, still seated. "What if it is just a cover?"

"Do you want to be the one who decides that they are bluffing?" Raye's mouth was set grimly, "Because I don't want to call a bluff and find myself to blame for the end of the Universe."

* * *

_Sorry this took a little longer than I expected. I ended up rewriting it a couple times. Thanks for the reviews. I'm working on the next chapter now. - LS_


	13. Twelve

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

**Twelve:**

Darien leaned his head back against the stone wall; he was half hoping that he could dissolve into the shadows. He closed his eyes and struggled to compose himself before his cousins got a good look at his face. Unfortunately, all he saw when he closed his eyes was the innocent face of a pigtailed blonde smiling tentatively at him before she closed the store room door.

He opened his eyes with an internal groan. Before he had met Bunny he had been blissfully unaware of exactly how miserable he was; it was as if being around the blonde had made him alive for the first time, and now he knew he was dead without her. Was he doomed to live his life in snatches stolen in store rooms? Why couldn't he have been born a merchant or a commoner? Being royalty was like being condemned to marry for convenience and choose against your heart, all because you were born to a position of responsibility.

Being born royalty was a fate worse than death.

"Oy! Darien! Was that your friend Andrew I saw running out of here with his tail between his legs?" Zoisite chortled.

Darien turned his head to grin at his cousins, he only hoped that he appeared to be cool and collected. "Don't tease him Zoie. If I had thought I could get away with it I would have run as well."

"How reassuring."

As he watched his cousins line up along the balcony rail Darien felt an impending sense of doom. The stunning lack of needling and less then amiable banter meant that the four men were united; an occurrence that was rare enough to set Darien ill at ease.

The only thing that Darien could think of that would make his cousins even attempt to work together was if they had found out about Bunny. Once that thought struck him it was all Darien could do to keep himself from bolting up to the Mare Serenitatis's chambers to check on the blonde maid.

"There is no need to look at us as though we are the four horsemen of the apocalypse, Cousin." Kunzite said with a strained amiability, "We aren't going to herald the end of the Universe, we are just here for a chat."

Darien grunted a response; if they didn't know about Bunny he sure as hell wasn't going to lead them to her.

"We know what's going on."

Darien eyed his cousins speculatively as he tried to battle down the rising tide of panic. "Gods, I hope not." He thought. He had never before been faced with the possibility of having to fight his cousins; now he weighed his chances if an occasion came when he would have to fight them for Bunny. He was certain that he could take them two on one, but three on one was stretching it and four on one... Perhaps it would be better if he and Bunny just made a run for it.

"As you know, we are now four weeks into the convention of peace. Two weeks from tomorrow you will have to choose a bride... and... well..."

Jadeite interrupted Kunzite, "We need to know who it is."

"What?" Darien blinked at his cousins, he had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he had missed everything Kunzite had said. "Why on the Gods' Earth would I tell you that?"

The four men exchanged uncomfortable looks.

"I told you he would be difficult." Nephrite mumbled.

"You are damn right I'm going to be difficult! I don't see why it is any of your business who I choose to..."

In his typical fashion Jadeite interrupted bluntly. "Because we have to choose out of your leftovers!"

"Choose what?"

"You are just being difficult for the hell of it, aren't you?" Jadeite snapped.

Nephrite rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "Shut up, Jed. You are just going to make it worse." He sauntered over to Darien and looped one arm casually around the Prince's neck. "What Jeddy here is trying to say is..."

"I'm twenty-two! Cease calling me Jeddy!"

Nephrite grinned and winked at Darien, he still enjoyed picking on Jadeite. "IS that we already know that you've got an eye for the dazzling Princess Venus so..."

Kunzite interrupted with an uncharacteristic display of emotion. "That is most certainly _not_ what Jeddy was trying to say!"

"I'm _not_ Jeddy!"

Whispering fiercely, the silver haired man grabbed Nephrite by the arm and dragged him back to the rail.

Nephrite grinned and slapped Kunzite on the back a little harder than was appropriate for a friendly smack. "Better you than me, man."

Kunzite growled at his cousin before turning back to the prince with a tight smile on his face. "What Nephrite means to say is that we need to know which business venture you are going to enter into so that we can invest wisely."

"For Ceres sake!" Zoisite interjected dramatically. "Why can't you just come out and say what you mean. You make everything so convoluted that no one understands what you are trying to say, let alone what you mean to say!"

For his part, Darien stood back and eyed his cousins warily as the argued. "Not that it matters, but you still aren't telling me anything." He broke in cautiously.

The Shitennou froze and turned to glare at the Prince.

"Your father wants us to choose brides from the women you reject." Jadeite spat. "Which means we want to know who our options are, and who is off limits."

"Oh." Darien felt somewhat deflated; he had been floating on the powerful feeling that came with protecting the woman he loved. "Frankly speaking I still don't know who I'm going to choose. They are all silly girls with empty heads and agendas for power."

Darien would have expected a cursory, half hearted protest from one of his cousins, but the vehement chorus of "no" that came from all sides threw him off guard.

"What?"

An awkward pause ensued as the four Shitennou grinned sheepishly at one another. Each man hoped that another would gather his thoughts for an appropriate response.

"Well..." Zoisite stammered. "Take Princess Venus for example..."

Kunzite cast a wide-eyed look at Zoisite who shrugged apologetically.

"She may appear to be a complete air head, but I'm sure Kunzite will agree with me that she has a hidden depth."

Darien raised an incredulous eyebrow at Kunzite.

"She does." Kunzite grudgingly admitted as he glared at the blonde man next to him. "But when It comes down to it she is just another spoiled princess... Anyone can get lucky if you are around them long enough. But Nephrite was just saying how Princess Jupiter is quite entertaining."

"Of course she is entertaining." Nephrite stuttered; it was his turn to glare daggers at the silver haired man. "But you know how I am, Darien. Give me enough time and I could be entertained by a toaster."

"Give him enough booze." Jadeite scoffed.

Turning his steely glare toward Jadeite, Nephrite continued. "I'll take any amusement that comes my way, but Jeddy here isn't so easy to please. He was just telling us that Priness Mars has some exceptional ideas in that pretty little head of hers."

Darien struggled to suppress a grin as he realized what was going on.

"Sure she is lucky sometimes," Jadeite tried to stay nonchalant, but succeeded in sounding only slightly panicked. "But she has a notoriously short temper. Besides, Princess Mercury has the monopoly on brains and she is meek as a kitten." He glared defiantly at Zoisite.

"And the political clout of a baby." Zoisite countered.

"Stop being a bastard, Zoie."

"Me? What did I ever do to you to make you drag Ami into this, Jed?"

The gentlemen's united front dissolved into petty squabbling yet again.

"Oh please!"

"What haven't you done to him?" Kunzite interrupted. "The real question is what have I ever done to you? Why did you have to go and bring up Minako?"

"Nephrite started it!"

Darien sighed; he was both comforted and annoyed by his cousin's loss of maturity. He hoped that when it came down to it he wouldn't profane the woman he loved as his cousins had profaned the women they love.

"I don't know where you are getting these good impressions of the Princesses from." Darien interrupted. "As far as I am concerned they are all like my mother..."

The Shitennou winced.

"And I have no idea who I am going to marry. Now if you will excuse me, I have a big day tomorrow so I'm going to bed."

* * *

Ami glanced over at her companions. "This is it." She took a deep breath and raised her hand to rap sharply on the door in front of her. 

I grey eyed mousy haired maid opened the door with a deep curtsy. "Your majesties." She kept her eyes averted as she held the door, so that she could see only the hems of the Princesses' dresses as they passed over the threshold. "If your majesties would follow me."

The maid led them to a study, furnished in a fashion that was similar to the studies in the Princesses' apartments. The trio took their seats in a group that afforded them a view of the door.

"If your majesties would be pleased to wait here I shall inform my lady of your arrival." The maid curtsied again and backed out of the room; she closed the doors as she left.

Minako, Ami, and Raye traded dubious looks but remained silent as they waited.

As the minutes stretched by Minako struggled with the tense silence. Before they had left her chambers the three women had decided that they should not speak if they were left alone incase someone was listening.

Minako sighed. She could feel stress radiating off of Ami to her right and from the sound of it Raye was fidgeting irritably to her left.

"I certainly hope these are not the type of people who think it is fashionable to leave their guests waiting for long periods of time without a hostess." Raye broke the silence in irritation just as the door opened.

"Good gracious no!"

Minako hung her head in embarrassment as the Mare Serenitatis entered the room.

"That would be spectacularly rude of me." The Mare Serenitatis smiled kindly at her guests, her green eyes sparkling warmly, as she swept into a flawlessly elegant curtsy. "I must apologize for the wait. I'm afraid that I had a spot of trouble with preparations for tea. You see, there was an unexpected addition to the party." Her eyes lingered a moment on Raye.

The Martian Princess had the grace to turn her head and blush.

"But I'm afraid that the rest of the group has yet to arrive."

Mina felt her lips curl up in a slight grin. It was evident that the Mare Serenitatis had not grown up in a world of political intrigue in the way that her face would momentarily betray emotion before her training quashed it. As she spoke of the missing guests the Mare bit her lip nervously.

"While we wait, may I introduce my contemporary form Mare Insularum?" She turned to indicate the gentleman who had entered the room behind her.

The lanky gentleman was dressed in a beautifully tailored suit with his long silver hair pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He stepped forward and bowed to the princesses, "Varrick Lunaris at your service."

The blonde woman glanced to her right; she saw the thoughts spinning rapidly behind Ami's eyes and wished fervently that her friend would clue her in.

"I'm glad to see that three planetary princesses warrant the presence of two of the famed Lunar Maria." Raye said sarcastically.

Aghast, Minako turned to glare at Raye. She was appalled by the Martian Princess's behavior, but neither the Mare Serenitatis of the Mare Insularum seemed fazed.

"Well Varrick here is..."

A dangerous look traded between the two Lunarians silenced the Mare Serenitatis mid sentence. Minako wondered what was behind the look, and what the Mare Serenitatis had been about to say.

"We apologize that our own Princess could not be here to greet you herself, but she is..." Minako noticed an odd look flit over the Mare Serenitatis's face, "She is not here."

Tension drained from Minako's shoulders; if the Moon Princess was not here then neither was Sailor Moon. This way they wouldn't have to worry about the end of the universe as they tried to join together in the next few weeks.

A maid scurried into the room. She dropped into a hasty curtsey and proceeded to whisper urgently to Varrick. The gentleman nodded and murmured a response before turning his attention to the Princesses. "Our other guests have arrived."

Relief fluttered across the Mare Serenitatis's face as four women entered the room. "May I present to you four remarkable ladies."

Ami, Minako, and Raye blanched.

The tallest of the new comers was a slim, leggy blonde with blue-green eyes and short cropped hair. She grinned mischievously at the shocked looks on Ami, Raye, and Minako's faces.

"Princess Haruka Janus of Uranus."

An aqua haired beauty stuck close to Princess Uranus's side. She was shorter than the other woman by a head but her presence challenged the blonde's despite their difference in heights. She had and innate sense of grace and beauty, every move she made seemed to flow smoothly.

"Princess Michiru Salacia of Neptune."

The shortest, and youngest, of the new comers seemed content to shrink into the shadows created by the Princess of Neptune; she almost seemed to cling to the aqua haired woman's skirts like a shy child clinging to her mother. She has straight black hair that just brushed past her chin and was dressed completely in black. The only one of the girl's attributes that did not lend itself to cowering in the shadows was a pair of luminous violet eyes.

"Princess Hotaru Narasimha of Saturn."

The final member of the group was nearly as tall as the Princess of Uranus; she had olive skin and long green hair. She carried herself with a regal air, but her garnet eyes betrayed a profound sadness; it was as though she had seen more than her fair share of sorrow.

"and Princess Setsuna Persephone of Pluto."

Ami, Minako, and Raye rose to curtsey respectfully to the women from the outer planets.

"Ladies, may I present to you Princess Ami Hermia Mizuno, Princess Minako Aphrodite of Venus, and Princess Ares Tyr Hino of Mars."

Historically the outer planets had always been a powerful group. They held political clout because they were the first line of defense against evils from outside of the solar system, and they were strongly allied together. They held military clout because they had the strongest militaries in the solar system. Beyond that they held a special sway because the royal families of the outer planets were always trained in combat, something that they inadvertently held over the heads of the inner planetary rulers. Next to the wrath of the outer planets suffering from a Martian fit of temper was like walking in a field of daisies.

However, it had been one hundred years since the last interplanetary conference had dissolved. Most of the inner planets believed that the alliance between the outer planets had been liquefied as well, but from the look of the four women across the room it seemed highly unlikely. It also seemed as though the Moon Kingdom had not underestimated the power of the outer planets as the Earth had.

Minako swallowed a lump in her throat. She longed to wipe the smug look off of Varrick's face, but they both understood who held the aces in this game. Even if all of the inner planets joined forces with the Earth it was highly unlikely that they would be able to hold a long bloody war as a draw, the outer planets were just too powerful and the moon's power was still an unknown factor in the equation.

"Makoto isn't here?" Princess Neptune queried.

The Mare Serenitatis shook her head. "I'm sorry Michiru we just didn't get an opening." She responded to Princess Neptune's crestfallen look.

"Don't worry, Michi. We'll get her." The blonde Princess Uranus pulled Princess Neptune into a one armed hug.

"That's easy for you to say, Haruka." Michiru mumbled. "You won't be the one she is complaining to when she finds out about Usagi-hime." Princess Neptune pouted prettily up at Haruka.

"Well then, I'll just have to..."

The princess from Pluto cleared her throat causing Michiru and Haruka to jump away from each other. The pair blushed red in embarrassment.

"Gomen nasai, Setsuna." Michiru murmured with a small bow to the Princess of Pluto.

The Mare Serenitatis waved the new comers into seats, smiling fondly at them, before she addressed the group. "I'm not very good at this whole political intrigue thing, so I'm not going to try to dance around the issue. Despite what you may believe, you are all here, not because you are all Planetary Princesses but because you are all Sailor Soldiers from your respective planets."

Minako glanced at her two companions, wondering about the truth of the Mare's statement. She and Ami had played together since they were babies, was it possible that Ami could hide such a thing from her for all of those years? Both Ami and Raye seemed to be unaffected by the Mare's statement, so Minako could only conclude that it was true.

"That's hardly more than decent espionage, or a lucky guess." Raye said nonchalantly. "I have a trainee that could have figured that out in less than a month."

It was a bluff; Minako knew that Amaya had spent five years as the head of Venus's spy network unsuccessfully searching for even the smallest hint as to who the other Sailor Soldiers were.

From the dark look in the Mare Serenitatis's eyes it was apparent that she recognized the bluff and was annoyed by it.

Princess Haruka grinned maliciously at Raye and broke into another language. It seemed to flow off of her tongue like silk. "I certainly hope that they aren't all as stupid as this one is, Trinity. It would be an amazing waste of everyone's time if they are."

Michiru looked at Haruka askance, but also spoke in the foreign language. "Be nice. Usagi-hime expects it from us."

"They are just taken off guard, Haruka." Setsuna murmured, "I'm sure your own response to Usagi-hime was similarly defiant. I'm sure that when they haven't just had a bomb shell dropped in their laps they are much more sensible."

* * *

_First, let me apologize for any confusion from the last chapter. I never saw the dubs of Sailor Moon S, SS, or Stars so it didn't occur to me that by choosing the name Amaya there might be some confusion. Amaya is not Haruka. NOT. Amaya is a totally separate character, and a minor one at that. So sorry for the confusion. Second, thanks for all the reviews. I know I'm slow to get the next chapter up, and I'm sorry about that... I just don't think you should have to suffer through my lesser prose, so I try to get it as close to perfect as I can. Alright, as always I'm working on the next chapter. Please review, even if you don't like it. -LS_


	14. Thirteen

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

**Thirteen:**

Bunny slid into her seat at the servant's breakfast; the deep indigo of the sky hadn't yet been broken by the hazy grey predawn, and yet the dining area was alive with the friendly murmur of conversation. Here everyone got along, regardless of where they called home; Venusians joked with Plutonians, Lunarians flirted with Earthings, it was as though all of the trouble and intrigue from the outside died away.

When she had first ventured into this room Bunny had expected an uneasy murmur with chasms and divisions; the friendly murmur had thrown her off, thinking that the practiced court intrigue extended into the servants. It had taken a while for the blonde to understand that in the servant's hall no one really cared; they were all cut from the same cloth and happy to commiserate or sympathize. There was no room in the servant's hall for desperate grasping and maneuvering for power because this was a room full of the powerless.

Bunny sighed, feeling like an intruder, and ducked her head down to concentrate on the steaming porridge in front of her.

"Usagi-hime."

Bunny ignored the speaker, and grinned at her meal.

"Usagi-hime."

"You must have mistaken me for someone else." Bunny said idly as she continued to concentrate on tucking away her meal. "There is no Princess here, Matoko."

"Bunny, then."

The blonde looked up with a smile; a tall brunette stood, rolling her eyes, on the other side of the table. "Matoko! I'm so glad to see you, won't you join me?"

"I'd be honored." The brunette sighed dramatically, but gracefully seated herself across the table from the blonde.

"How is your sister?" Bunny grinned at the brunette.

"I have no sister." Matoko's face displayed genuine confusion.

Blue eyes rolled dramatically, "Gods you are so simple sometimes!" Bunny groaned. "Your twin, Matoko. How is your other self?"

Matoko's chin rose stubbornly as understanding dawned in her emerald eyes, "I'm not going to waste my meal talking to you about my other self! I'm here to talk about your other self!"

"I don't have one." Bunny's eyes hardened. "And even if I did, no one here has met her." She hissed.

"Fine then, Bunny_-hime_. I'm here to talk to you about _you_. I want to know what in Zeus's name is wrong with you!" The pair glared across the table at each other.

"As I said," Bunny hissed. "There is no Princess here."

Matoko dropped her green eyes to her own bowl, she looked as though she would melt the bowl to nothing with only the power of her anger. Bunny raised her eyes to look around the hall, watching as the hall's other occupants elbowed each other good naturedly. Her hard glare softened, "Do you ever feel as though we will infect them?"

Matoko looked up, confused by the blonde's regretful tone.

"Like we are intruding upon their peace, and we might end up rubbing our prejudices and mistrust on them? That one day we'll come down here, and they won't all be friends anymore? Like they would be better off without us?"

"You have to face reality; one day we will come down here and they won't be friends, but it won't be because we rubbed off on them. It will be because the royal families will tell them who to hate." Matoko propped her head up on her hands, "And it will be our fault; but you can only do so much to protect them."

The blonde groaned, suddenly more exhausted than she had been a moment before. She pushed her breakfast aside, and lay her head in her arms. "Look at them, Matoko; they are so blissfully ignorant, so free of prejudice. And I can't do a thing to protect that."

"You spend your life protecting them, don't judge yourself so harshly." Matoko reached across the table to squeeze Bunny's arm reassuringly. "And you are not alone. I am your friend. I will always be your friend."

"Thank you, Matoko." Bunny turned her head to grin half heartedly up at the other woman.

"Don't get me wrong, Bunny." The brunette continued her eyes hardening. "I may be your friend, but if you continue with this absurd plan to fight the Prince of the Earth I will have to hurt you... Not a lot, because you are my friend... But enough so that you will be unable to fight."

Bunny bit her upper lip, holding it between her teeth as she eyed the brunette. "I understand, but you must know if you try to stop me I will have to hurt you." She quirked an eyebrow in challenge, "Not a lot, because I like you, but enough that you will not be able to come after me to stop this fight."

"You know the prophecy as well as I do, Usagi-hime." Matoko whispered. "I cannot let the Earth and the Moon go into battle against each other."

Bunny ignored the fact that the brunette had called her Usagi-hime again. "That's what I am trying to stop, Matoko. The King loves his son; if I beat the Prince today then there is no way that the King will risk his son's life in a war against the Moon. It is the only way to make certain that the prophecy is never fulfilled."

"Is he your soul mate, Bunny?"

"No... No, of course not."

* * *

By the time Ami, Raye, and Minako left the Mare Serenitatis's apartments the sky over the palace was beginning to lighten with the breaking of a false dawn. They had spent the entire night sequestered in the Mare Serenitatis's study but hours of demanding, cajoling, begging, and pouting had left Ami no closer to understanding the Moon's wishes. 

Now Ami was beset with the rather unsettling feeling that she had missed something important in the conversations more subtle undercurrents and foreign asides. The princess of Uranus had continued to look down upon the new trio as the result of her initial bad impression; most of her snide comments had been in the language Ami soon recognized as Neptunese, but Ami wasn't certain that not knowing was the best in this situation.

After parting with her comrades from Mars and Venus, Ami had begun to restlessly roam through the palace like a wraith.

She had realized in moments that Varrick Lunaris was not a Mare as he claimed, but rather the prince of the moon kingdom. At first it had seemed foolishly arrogant, and infinitely amusing, that the Moon expected its isolationist policies to result in complete ignorance on the part of the other planets. The name Varrick was common enough, but Lunaris was a last name that was particular to the Moon's ruling family. In a matriarchal society like the Moon the last name was passed from mother to daughter; Varrick would lose the name when he married, but at the moment the name branded him.

Her amusement at the paltry deception had stopped her mind, for a moment, as she relished the feeling of being the intellectually superior to the Moon's royal family and their advisors. It wasn't until later that Ami realized her mistake.

Lady Trinity, the Mare Serenitatis, and Varrick had manipulated the room with such amazing skill that Ami didn't even notice. The seemingly explosive tension between Haruka and Raye had acted with the heady feeling of being superior to distract Ami just enough. She guessed that Raye was distracted by her own anger and Minako was distracted by feeling completely inferior to the tall unbelievably stylish princesses from Neptune and Pluto. As it was, they asked only the questions that Trinity and Varrick wanted asked and thought only thoughts that were put in their heads through skillful maneuvering.

Outside the room, Ami was free to think and understand.

People who were so shockingly skilled at political posturing that they could dupe three planetary princesses into joining an alliance that they knew nothing about could not possibly be so stupid that they would overlook the importance of a name.

Ami tried to get her mind around a reason why the Lunarians would half-heartedly disguise the identity of their Prince. The only possible explanation was that the Moon Kingdom was hiding something bigger so that if someone poked around and was too close to discovering the secret the shock of the Prince's identity could distract the entire court from the initial investigation.

Guessing at what the bigger secret could possibly be was hopeless; none of Ami's theories could be reconciled with what she had seen and heard in the past few weeks.

The Lunarians could be hiding spies in their number, but that was hardly worth the risk to the Prince's life. If spies were discovered there were things that could be done, or not be done, to deal with the problem. Besides, any good spy would kill his or her self and make it look like an accident before being discovered. A dead body was not proof of anything.

The Lunarians could be moving into the final stages of preparation for a surprise attack on the earth. Ami discarded the idea almost before it had fully formed. A vision of a blonde maid glaring confidently across a dark storage room came to Ami's mind, _"You should stand with the Moon because we do not want this war, we are here to protect the Earth, not invade it."_ The Blonde had seemed so sincere, it was hard to doubt her.

But the blonde maid was another one of the Moon's mysteries. Who was she? And how did she have the power to order around the sailor soldier of knowledge? How did she lack fear?

Something tickled the back of Ami's mind. She had done some quiet poking around and discovered that the maid's name was Bunny, that she was new, and that the Mare Serenitatis was very attached to her. It seemed important in some way, but Ami couldn't figure out how.

The roar of a crowd broke Ami from her reverie; she had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that her feet had carried her out to the practice courts.

Taking in her surroundings made Ami cringe; the Earth had some of the most fantastic practice courts that she had ever seen, but she was forced to let her skills waste away because she way playing the part of helpless little princess. Now she would return to Mercury and have to work ten times harder to make certain that her skills were up to par.

Ami knew that she should continue her pretense of being a perfect princess, but she was inexplicably drawn to the crowd. In a testament to prevailing thoughts, no one gave Ami a second glance as she squirmed and elbowed her way into the center of the throng. On the practice courts she was not a princess because it was inconceivable for a princess to be near the practice courts, let alone squirming through a crowd in a most unladylike way for a better view.

By standing on her tiptoes and peering over shoulders Ami afforded herself brief glimpses of Prince Endymion. He was dressed in white linen pants and a plain linen tunic, and had a massive broad sword belted to his hips. Apparently, the crowd was responding to his hyper-masculine posturing.

Grinning Ami took the opportunity presented by another roar from the crowd to slip further in the crowd. It seemed as though she had accidentally stumbled upon the contest of skills that Minako had referred to the night before. She glanced over another broad shoulder and wondered which poor man was doomed to fight the Prince. Dressed so simply Prince Endymion seemed all the more commanding, he was more of a prince in the practice field that he was in the ballroom.

With another explosion of support Ami managed to free herself from the throng; she squeezed herself up against the practice ring's railing and took a deep breath only to have it leave in a rush when she surveyed the scene.

The sun was rising, a bloody red, in the cloudless sky. She knew that the morning star, her own planet of Mercury, was up there somewhere but the sun had already drowned out the light. In the west the half moon was clinging to the remaining darkness, colored a brilliant orange as it set.

The princess of Mercury desperately tried to keep her eyes studying the sky, watching as the dim stars died in the light of the sun, but her own curiosity dragged her eyes back to Earth.

Prince Endymion stood with the sun rise to his back, the red light glinting off of his black hair and white clothing. The figure that stood across from him was slight, dressed in black pants and a black tunic the sword belted to the figure's hips showed off an unmistakably feminine physique. Long blonde hair was bound into a bun at the nape of her neck. There was no mistaking this woman, even is she no longer wore a maid's uniform.

Bunny stood serenely gazing at the prince as the men around called to her crassly.

Ami bit her lip, wondering for a moment why everyone had assumed that the fighter from the Moon would be a male.

_The first battle will be here, in our solar system._

"Princess Mercury! What a surprise!"

Ami raised a hand to her hair, self consciously when she heard Zoisite's voice. She suddenly regretted her decision. "My Lord."

"I'm surprised to see you here, Princess."

With her mind spinning behind her eyes Ami forced an uncertain smile. "I was attracted to the commotion, though I must say I'm a touch disappointed." Ami's eyes flickered back to the blonde in the ring, she knew that there was something important going on.

"I understand completely!" Zoicite murmured as he moved forward; everyone moved out of his way. "My cousin promised us some fun in this tournament, and now we discover that he is just going to beat up on a little girl. It's like shooting pet rabbits, where is the sport in that?" Ami noticed that Zoicite's smile didn't reach his eyes. "At least this one is aptly named."

Ami blinked. "Huh?"

"Her name is Rabbit... or Bunny... Or something strange."

"Rabbit?" Ami repeated, turning her eyes back to the blonde woman who was drawing her curved blade.

"Yeah. And what kind of a sword is that? My cousin will rip the paltry thing from her grasp in two moves."

"It's a katana." Ami responded vaguely; her mind was turning over the events from the past few weeks, rapidly moving over the way the maid had behaved and the way people had behaved around her. "Bunny." She looked around, feeling disoriented.

_But if they fight it will bring ruin to the Solar System, because soul mates are not meant to be at war with each other._

It wasn't the hours spent quarreling in the Mare Serenitatis's rooms, or anything that anyone had said or done in the past weeks that made Ami understand. Everything clicked when she saw a distinctive aqua head squeezing through the crowd on the other side of the ring.

"Usagi means rabbit!" Ami's blue eyes snapped back to the blonde woman facing Prince Endymion. "Usagi-hime." Ami was frozen with awe, watching the Moon Princess move in slow motion. The glint of sunlight on naked steel brought her back to herself for the first time all night Ami knew what she had to do. "Zoicite, you have to help me stop them!" As Ami moved to climb over the fence a muscular hand caught her wrist.

"No."

_If the Sailor Soldiers fail..._

"What?" Ami's eyebrows drew together in confusion and anger as she tried to shake off Zoicite's hand. "We have to stop them! He'll kill her... He can't kill her..." Ami stuttered, her desperation making her unable to communicate.

A pair of steely arms wrapped around Ami's waist, pulling her away from the fence. "No, you can't stop him. This is the only way we'll get him back."

Panic burned Ami's eyes, she kicked back into her captors shin and smashed her elbow into his abdomen. "You don't understand!" She struggled away from the man who had grabbed her and started forward again, only to face off with Zoicite.

"No,_ you_ don't understand! Ever since those Lunarians arrived we have been losing him. He is going soft, and we don't need soft. He has the strength to take over everything, Beryl said so."

Ami took a step backward, momentarily taken back by the crazed glint in Zoicite's eyes. "He can't take over everything! All he'll succeed in doing is destroying the universe. You have to let me stop this!" She recovered from the surprise and moved forward again, only to be caught around the waist and dragged backward again.

"Stop fighting, Ami." Zoicite hissed. "He'll discover that those damn Lunarians are evil sons of bitches, and that life is either kill or be killed. He'll come back to us, he'll understand what his father wants. Then everything will be fine, and we can be together."

"No!"

_So little one; should the Moon and the Earth ever meet in battle send for the Sailor Scout of knowledge as quickly as you can, because theirs is a battle to destroy the Universe._

Ami reached into her pocket and grasped a pendant, "Mercury... Planet..."

An anguished cry from the back of the crowd made Ami freeze as the clash of metal on metal rang through the court yard.


	15. Fourteen

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

**Fourteen:**

The sound of metal on metal rang through the court yard as Bunny and Darien dueled. In the first moment that it took the pair to come together and retreat back to a safe distance every other sound in the courtyard died. It was as though nothing existed beyond their clash of wills; the world ended at the white fence.

As the minutes ticked by, Darien began to regret not taking off his shirt before he began his match with Bunny. Now his black hair was wet with sweat and his shirt was plastered to his back. This was the price of arrogance.

Darien blocked a swift strike from Bunny, his eyes narrowing in concentration.

His weapon of choice was a basket hilted broadsword. It was a heavy one handed weapon with a long thick blade double edged blade. The hilt was like a protective shell of decorative webbing, helpful for catching blades and bashing heads of anyone who was not wary of distance.

At this point neither the powerful blade, nor the helpful secrets of the hilt were much help.

Even in the light of his humiliating defeat the first time he went up against the Lunarian he had always expected that she wouldn't be able to handle a sword. Somehow he had taken her comment that her three sai were better suited for women than men to mean that she couldn't fight with other weapons, a stupid move especially when he was continually surprised by the blonde woman. He had been in trouble for the first several minutes as he adjusted to Bunny's foreign technique. She had an amazing amount of speed and agility even with a large, two handed weapon.

Darien would set himself as Bunny came at him again. There was barely time to put up a defense before the blonde was out of his range again; Bunny flitted around, dancing in and out, attacking and retreating.

The woman's face was set determinedly, but her eyes were missing the sparkle that Darien had come to love. More than that, something in her every movement spoke of sadness. Her blocks and attacks weren't half hearted, but she couldn't put her soul behind the fight so every attack and every parry missed something. Bunny was missing something.

The thought made Darien falter, he escaped being grazed by Bunny's weapon by a hair and scrambled to block the sideways motion of the weapon.

"I can't lose to you, Darien."

He gave up a step, moving backwards in time to catch Bunny's blade with his, their weapons locked with a crash. "It's not up to you."

They were both panting, both sweating, both running out of steam. Now that Darien had adjusted to the wide, varied strokes of Bunny's katana they were evenly matched. It would come down to who ever made the first mistake.

When he fought two on one with his cousins they would get to this point, evenly matched... And waiting for the first mistake. Darien would always delve into himself, somewhere that he could only find when he had a sword in his hand, and pull out more strength. Now Darien tried to gain the extra strength, but he couldn't seem to get there.

Bunny wasn't the only one who couldn't put her soul behind her attack.

Their blades met with another crash. Darien's downward stroke was met by Bunny's parry. She twisted around moving out of the way as she brought her weapon down, moving his weapon out of the way and then coming up for the attack.

Darien parried, and moved into a straight attack to the leg.

"It is my choice." Bunny panted. She swept her katana down in a crescent, catching Darien's blade again. "I choose... I choose…"

It was over, they both recognized that fact. Bunny had been the one to find what she had lost.

Darien didn't understand how he had ended up with the cold hard steel of a sword blade pressed to his throat, but it was there. He closed his eyes, vaguely wondering if he would feel the cold steel as it cut through his neck.

"I choose to protect."


	16. Fifteen

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

**Fifteen:**

"Stop fighting, Ami." Zoicite hissed. "He'll discover that those damn Lunarians are evil sons of bitches, and that life is either kill or be killed. He'll come back to us, he'll understand what his father wants. Then everything will be fine, and we can be together."

"No!"

Ami reached into her pocket and grasped a pendant, "Mercury... Planet..."

An anguished cry from the back of the crowd made Ami freeze as the clash of metal on metal rang through the court yard.

She knew she should continue struggling toward the fight: it was still possible she could stop the fight before too much damage was done. No one would die if there was no victor. No one would die, and the universe wouldn't end.

No matter what her mind said, Ami's body wouldn't obey.

Her fist connected with Zoisite's nose in a powerful upper cut born from a panic that Bunny and Darien's fight could not have inspired. Zoisite's hands left Ami's waist involuntarily as they moved up to shield his gushing nose, but Ami didn't pay attention to the green flecked blood flowing from Zoisite's nose.

She turned sharply on her heel and pushed violently through the crowd, rushing toward the person who had screamed. For the first time in history the Sailor Scout of knowledge was turning her back on what she knew, and acting on what she felt. When Ami emerged from the crowd she felt panic and relief warring over her emotions at the sight she beheld.

Blonde haired, blue eyed Pincess Minako of Venus was kneeling on the dusy ground, slumped over in a fetal position with her hands clapped over her ears. She rocked back and forth as tears of agony streamed down her cheeks.

Relief bubbled in Ami's chest, Minako wasn't dead. Her first thought when she had heard the other woman lose her blood curdling shriek was that Minako must be dying. But she looked fine, physically.

At the same time the dark fist of panic clenched around Ami's heart. Panic because she didn't know what had caused the other woman's pain. Panic because she couldn't fight. Panic because she couldn't stand to lose her friend.

"Minako!" Ami moved with speed she didn't know she possessed; she rushed over to the blonde's side and knelt next to her, wrapping one comforting arm around Minako's shoulders. "Minako, what's wrong? What happened to you? Where does it hurt?"

Ami's torrent of queries went unanswered as Minako continued to rock back and forth. The tears on her face dripped off her chin creating a trail of damp spots in the gritty earth.

"Make it stop!" Minako whimpered.

Biting her lip the blue haired Princess of Mercury held back questions that would never be answered. She wrapped her other arm around Minako and held the woman in a tight embrace, it was then that Ami realized that Minako was mumbling.

"Normal hearts die from less than this. Oh, Gods, please make it stop. Why do they keep fighting when their hearts tell them not to? Why would she keep fighting when she knows as much of love as I do? Make it _stop_! Make the crying stop!"

They sat like that for twenty minutes, oblivious to the sudden tense silence when the fight came to a stand still. It was Haruka, the princess of Uranus, who pulled them out of it.

"Get up."

Ami blinked, no one had spoken to her since she had taken her place on the ground. She felt a feral growl rising through her, "Go away." Some one grabbed the back of her blue kimono, hauling her to her feet.

"I said get up." Ami was faced with the flashing blue eyes of Haruka Janus of Uranus. "We do not have the luxury of having the time to nurse of friends' wounds. This is a battle, and in a battle you cannot turn from the fight even if the love of your life is in mortal danger." Her voice was pitched in a low, threatening snarl.

Somewhere, in the back of her mind Ami wondered what everyone around must think. Princesses don't threaten other princesses with physical violence or bodily harm, it just wasn't done. But here, in the middle of the Palace four princesses were breaking down all of those antiquated ideas.

"Let me go, or I will make it so that you can never hold anyone again."

Haruka's lips twitched at the challenge. "How much action does Mercury get, cradled in the center of the solar system as it is? Threaten me again, and you'll feel the wrath of someone who has been fighting all of her life." Her eyes were cold as she hissed her answer, her fist still clutching enough of Ami's kimono to hold the other woman a few inches off of the ground. "You'll be dead before you can move. So, please, threaten me again."

"Not the time, dear."

The Princess of Uranus released Ami roughly, sending the shorter woman crashing into the dust.

As she picked her self up out of the dust Ami cast a grateful look at her aqua haired savior.

Michiru rolled her eyes. "It's not for you." She said loftily. "I couldn't care less what happens to you, but we really don't have the time right now."

Ami frowned, confusion bubbling in her eyes. She glanced around to find Minako glaring down at the little Princess of Saturn while rubbing at a red hand mark upon her cheek; it didn't take much to figure out what had happened there. Michiru had one hand gripping one of Raye's arms like a steel vice; the Martian was trying valiantly to be affronted and not show how much pain the other woman was causing her. The practice courts were emptying out leaving Prince Darien and his cousins chatting quietly in the ring.

It suddenly occurred to Ami that she had no idea what had occurred in the fight. She didn't know who had won, where the Moon Princess had run off too, or how long the battle had lasted.

"What happened?"

Again, the Neptunese Princess rolled her eyes. "Also, not the time. Come." With that Michiru began to walk off, dragging Raye behind her.

* * *

Matoko shoved away a pair of hands that were valiantly trying to brave her ferocious temper to tend her wounds. "Leave it." She hissed, her green eyes flashing with a murderous rage. She had been beaten... and badly at that. Her nose looked squashed and crooked, a testament to a hard right hook. She was covered in countless scratches and bruises and her right arm... Well, she was pretty certain it was broken. 

"Her majesty must have her wounds seen to." The maid bobbed into a curtsy. "If her majesty doesn't let me see to her wounds she may get a scar, or her nose will not heal straight. Then her majesty's parents will dismiss her lowly servants. Please forgive me."

Matoko tried to shove the woman away again as morose thoughts danced in her head.

She has been beaten, by an opponent she had been certain she could beat, by an opponent who had been holding back. Worse than the knowledge of her failure was the knowledge that her miscalculation and secrecy could cause the universe to end.

Of course, Bunny had been counting on the secrecy. The longer Matoko sat in bed the more certain she became that the little blonde princess had been playing on every strength and weakness. Bunny knew more than she let on, and she had the skill to manipulate the people around her; she was a puppet master, calculating how every little flick of the wrist would make her marionettes dance.

Was it possible that the Princess of the Moon really had engineered every aspect of the convention in order to destroy the universe? Was the person they should be fighting against the very woman who claimed to be their leader?

"She's right. You'll never get married with a crooked nose."

The brunette grimaced, startled from her thoughts, and looked up from her bed. She tried to shove the maid away again; a rosy blush of embarrassment spreading across her face. "Michi!" She was both wary of the aqua haired beauty that stood by the door and pleased by her arrival.

"But it is possible that the universe will end before you have a chance to get married. So why dwell on such petty things?" Even though Michiru's voice was cool and even Makato felt the anger and mistrust radiating from the Princess of Neptune.

"Michi." Matoko had meant to be firm but she heard the note of pleading in her own voice.

"Or perhaps it was your plan all along."

"Michi..."

"Tell me the truth."

Matoko sighed; whoever it was that said "the truth will set you free" was certainly not in politics and had never had the dubious honor of coming face to face with the stunning Princess Michiru.

"Michi..." Matoko began again, vaguely hoping that the other woman would allow her anger to rise or abate; whatever it would take to move away from the truth.

"The truth Matoko, or the Gods help me I will kill you right here and now."

The brunette swallowed audibly, biting her lip as she tried to determine exactly how much of the truth she could avoid divulging.

"I thought I could take her. I mean she is just a little slip of a thing, and she can't have had as much experience fighting as I have had. It was supposed to be an easy..."

"Not what I meant." Michiru interrupted coldly, a steely glint in her eyes.

Matoko narrowed her eyes, watching metal flash through Michiru's hands. They both knew that the Princess of Neptune had unmatched skills with her kunai and hira shuriken. "You can't kill me just because I'm a princess."

"No." Michiru conceded, tiny knives still flashing in her hands. "But I could kill you for lying to me, or for attacking the Moon Princess, or for failing to prevent her little battle. So, tell me the truth now or all of your maid's efforts will be in vain."

Once, long ago, a marriage had been arranged between one of the lesser princesses of Neptune and one of the princes of Jupiter. The Princess had fallen in love with her fiancé the moment she laid eyes upon him, her heart was set upon living happily ever after with her dashing prince. The prince had been less enthusiastic about the whole ordeal. In the end the Prince had run off with another woman, leaving the princess completely desolate.

The Princess of Neptune committed suicide, and Michiru's great great grandmother had demanded that actions be taken against the Prince of Jupiter but Jupiter's royal family had decided to stand by the prince.

It had been at least one hundred and fifty years since the planet Jupiter had been welcomed as one of the outer planets. One and a half centuries of being surrounded by thinly veiled revulsion and distrust. All of that time because one woman had been stupid enough to fall in love.

Uranus, Pluto, Saturn, and Neptune still fought together as a team. They protected the solar system from the horrors that tried to slip in from the outside, and the solar system included the planet Jupiter but that didn't mean that they wouldn't have allowed the giant planet to fall if they could have.

So when Matoko had gained her powers as Sailor Jupiter her parents had lied, saying that she was the real Princess's body guard. A girl named Kimiko had taken Matoko's place, pretending to be Matoko Lita Dione the crown Princess of Jupiter, while Matoko had gained acceptance in as a Sailor Scout.

She had never considered what would happen when she inherited her mother's thrown and was forced to reveal her true identity to the other Sailor Scouts. Now it didn't matter, because the cards had fallen against her and the battle that should have been easy had ended wrong.


	17. Sixteen

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

**Sixteen:**

She looked down at her hands, resetting them on the black wrapped hilt of her katana. She grinned as her gaze traveled up the perfectly honed blade to where rested against tan skin stretched over as tense muscular neck. When her eyes moved up to the face she froze.

She knew what should have been there. She should have seen sapphire eyes with shock, amazement, or acceptance shining through. She should have seen a lopsided grin that was both wry and nervous. She should have seen concession. She should have seen the end. Instead red eyes gazed back at her, something evil in their depths as they dared her to finish the killing stroke that she had started. A cruel, calculating smile curled over his lips as he discovered what she already knew.

Desperately she turned her attention back to the weapon in her hands, willing her muscles to move. A drop of blood, that's all she needed. Everyone knew that a fight wasn't over until first blood was drawn. With her blade pressed against his neck a mere flick of the fingers should have done the trick. All she needed was one drop.

All she needed was the impossible.

Something in the back of her mind screeched in protest as he moved forward, moving her blade out of his way. This was not how it was supposed to happen.

She dropped the katana, scrambling backwards, and pulled two sais from her belt. Hastily, she brought the weapons up to cross over her head blocking a powerful swing as a broad sword careened toward her head.

He had the advantage, bearing down with his weight he forced her to her knees. If they stayed locked in a battle of strength it would only be moments before silver blood was washed across the dusty ground.

She allowed the block to weaken, allowing his blade to sink down diagonally across one blade. His motions carried the sword away from her body as she rolled to safety; she was back on her feet in a low guard in only moments.

And they danced.

A deadly dance that Hades himself would be proud of. Every muscle in his body sought after her blood; he wasn't after drops but rivulets, so that he could rejoice in his superiority as she gasped her last breath. For her part she flowed, the perfect partner in their lethal waltz. Step for step, they moved across the court.

Theirs would be a fight to the death; a fight that only one could win.

He had her on the defensive in a way that he had never managed before; it was all she could do to keep step, blocking and parrying each attack. She sought to delay the inevitable even as her mind protested the events.

The next step she took backed her into the fence. She found herself wishing for that night so many weeks ago when the only weapons her adversary had held were his charm and good looks. Now there were no shadows. Now the only kiss he wanted to administer was the kiss of death.

He smiled triumphantly, his red eyes flashing as he moved forward with a killing stroke.

She stuck her blades out, catching him in the abdomen at the same moment she felt cold steel bite into her chest.

Red and silver blood mixed flowed together, mixing in a shimmering liquid as they collapsed against each other.

"The only battle to the death to end in a tie." A voice rasped, "A fitting end to love." It was neither his voice nor hers but she knew it, and knew that recognizing the speaker was essential.

She clawed at consciousness, struggling to make out the blurry figure of the speaker…

Sitting up with a gasp, Bunny's hand moved involuntarily to the place where she should have been run through.

"That's not how it happened." Bunny reminded herself.

She was desperate to get the vision of Darien with red eyes and a cruel smile out of her eyes, but no matter how she strained her eyes all she saw was black. Her panic stricken mind gleefully provided visions of Darien advancing on her with killer intent written in his red eyes.

Something skittered across her hand, causing Bunny to release a startled shriek. She bounded to her feet moving away from the dank stone wall she had been sleeping against.

She crossed her arms, holding herself tightly in a comfortless embrace. What was left but to die?

Even with her eyes dilated to suck in as much light as possible she could barely make out her own hands. Despite her inability to see even a foot in front of herself, Bunny was now fully aware of every aspect of her current five foot by five foot world.

She was surrounded on all sides by thick iron bars. The ground was dank stone. In one corner there was a pile of musty straw; in another, a deep pit from which tendrils foul stench rose coaxing. Her body had yet to demand that Bunny venture that way. The back wall, where Bunny had been dozing fitfully was made of dripping stone behind the metal bars.

When she strained her ears, sometimes Bunny heard the muttering of other pathetic souls trapped for eternity in their own thoughts. But even that comfort could have been the making of her desolate mind.

The only human contact Bunny had since plummeting into her own personal hell had been with the lecherous little guard. The squat, contemptible man would journey down into the dungeon several times a day so that he could grin his slimy gap-toothed smile and undress her with his eyes.

Bunny shuddered involuntarily, squeezing a little tighter with her arms. Crystalline tears leaked out of her sapphire eyes.

Three days alone with herself in the darkness had allowed the blonde plenty of time for reflection. Her first mistake had been thinking that she could make a difference. Princesses don't change things or save people; they just sit there waiting to be rescued by their knight in shining armor.

She had thought that she was different. She had hoped to protect her people from the end, but all of her best intentions had backfired horribly. Now the whole universe was doomed, because she had the audacity to fall in love.

Years ago, the Queen of the Moon Kingdom sat down with her wild little princess about love... and soul mates. Bunny had never believed in love at first sight or that some person possessed the other half of her heart. She had never believed it, so she had fought it when the other half of her soul had walked out onto the archery fields in the form of the dark, bitter, brooding Prince of the Earth. She had fought the idea until she felt her heart contract in pain as the blade of her katana met with his broad sword.

Would it have changed anything if she had believed?

_Bunny gritted her teeth, pulling the string of her long bow back to her ear. She closed one eye and cocked her head to the side, squinting down the smooth arrow shaft to aim at the target. Her last five arrows were only centimeters from the center of the target, but she knew as well as anyone that a centimeter meant the difference between dead and fighting. She wanted her opponents to be dead._

_She loosed the arrow just as her senses prickled warning her of a presence on the field. Bunny hissed, knowing that her lapse in concentration meant her arrow would be off target... Again. Her imaginary foe was still able to fight, even if it was mortally wounded._

_She turned her head to covertly study the new comer as she moved to retrieve another arrow. Bunny fumbled and dropped the arrow as her heart flipped over in her chest. Her company was a man; a tall, dark, and broodingly handsome man. The light breeze ruffled his dark hair and played with the light linen of his clothing, showing off every one of his chiseled muscles._

_Bunny was preparing to flee when he noticed her. For a moment she was frozen, her heart beating wildly in her chest, then her brain took control and she started to move. Mechanically she knocked the arrow and let it fly, not even bothering to aim._

_Half of her hoped that he would just move on and go about his business. Half of her watched frantically for a sign that his interest was flagging._

_There weren't any more arrows. She didn't notice until she reached for the next, and it wasn't there. Bunny looked around, sighing heavily. She shot more than one hundred arrows, but she had no idea were they went. Reaching up she unstrung the long bow, and brought her hands back to tie up her hair. It was time to go in._

_And he moved._

_Her eyes followed involuntarily as his lithe form stalked across the grass; he moved with the deadly grace of a panther. She moved forward against her own will, watching perplexed as he tried to wrench the barbed arrows from the target._

_Bunny struggled to get words past the lump that had suddenly risen to block her throat. "You have to cut them." Oh, but she was ten kinds of idiot. "You have to cut them. I used barbed arrows, they wont come out unless out cut them."_

_He was grinning at her in a way that made her feel utterly exposed, like he knew how badly she wanted to say something normal. All she could do was talk about the Gods cursed arrows._

_Bunny took a knife from her belt, holding it uncertainly. "I will cut them out if you move your hand." She reached over to move his hands, but stopped when she touched him. She was surprised by the way her heart beat faster, flipping over with nervous joy at the touch of his skin. Trying to snap out of this misty feeling, Bunny took his calloused hands in hers and moved them away from the arrows. She resisted the urge to twine her fingers with his._

_"See." She tried to be intent upon the barbed arrow, speaking about it and poison and acid. She spoke, but her mind protested. Yes, she was an idiot. What kind of a man wanted to listen to someone talk about deadly arrows._

_He still had that knowing grin on his face, like he was laughing at her._

_Bunny bent down to gather up the arrow pieces that she had dropped before turning to walk back to the bow and quiver. "I'm such a moron." She mumbled, so quietly that he couldn't have heard._

_"You are amazing."_

_Bunny blinked, wondering if he had indeed heard her berate herself. "Thank you." Bunny said with a smile. She was holding her bow and her quiver, but was entirely uncertain what to do._

_"I've never seen anyone shoot a bow that large before, it's so shocking."_

_Bunny's smile grew, taking his words as a sign that she wasn't a complete moron. At least he was willing to play along. "You should see it on horse back; that is really amazing." She paused and extended a hand to him. "I'm Bunny."_

_He stared at her uncertainly for a moment making Bunny blush uncomfortably; she almost dropped her hand in embarrassment._

_"Darien."_

_She held the handshake a moment longer than necessary, "A pleasure."_

Would it have changed anything if she had believed?

She couldn't have run away; she never ran away. She couldn't have melted in his arms there and then, not with the way he was looking at her. Nothing would have changed. Not in those moments.

Even if she had believed she would still have ended up here, because she had never believed _him_ capable of backstabbing her like that. She had never believed that he could be so bent on keeping her here that he would do what he did.

If her first mistake was believing in herself then her most recent mistake was believing in him.

_She looked down at her hands, resetting them on the black wrapped hilt of her katana. She grinned as her gaze traveled up the perfectly honed blade to where rested against tan skin stretched over as tense muscular neck. When her eyes moved up to the face she paused in confusion. She had expected surprise, but was greeted by pride and acceptance shining in cobalt eyes._

_She dropped the katana, meeting his eyes defiantly. "I know the rules." She murmured. "I can't win by your rules."_

_"I yield."_

_"I didn't ask you to."_

_A wry smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, "You will never have to ask."_

_They stood for a moment, eyes locked and searching for something that neither understood._

_"Please." She almost didn't hear his pained pleading, but she knew what he was referring too. He had meant to say "please stay with me," "please love me," or "please don't leave me."_

_She shook her head; she had already chosen her duty over her love. She chose to protect the people of the Earth and the people of the Moon Kingdom, she was prepared to sacrifice for it. "I chose."_

_He moved on hand toward her, open and inviting her to take his hand in hers._

_She moved forward... and was suddenly sprawled on the ground with a sword pressed to her throat. The man on top of her had long wavy red hair that was tied back in a low pony tail._

_"Don't move." He growled as his hands moved along her body, feeling every inch of her._

_Bunny gasped, her eyes searching frantically for Darien._

_She found him, growling at a man with silver hair._

_"You are here by arrested by the Royal Guard for the attack on the Princess of Jupiter and for crimes committed against the state." The red headed man growled, his eyes flashing angrily. "You will be executed as a spy, unless we can come to some sort of arrangement."_

_Bunny barely dared to breathe, the fury in the red headed man's eyes told her that by rights she should have been dead already._

_"Are you unarmed?"_

_"Hai."_

_"Are you unarmed?"_

_"Y... Yes." The large man had missed the tiny poisoned daggers that Bunny wore in her hair, she wasn't about to admit his mistake. She might need an out._

_It was already clear what had happened. Darien had decided to keep her against her will. It was no mistake that the men had tackled her after she had rejected Darien again._

Buny hugged herself, again. She fought off the dry sobs that threatened her.

This was not the time.

She reached up, touching the two chopsticks in her hair. She still had her out if they discovered who she was, but the thought didn't hold any comfort.

Somehow she had to stop thinking, stop remembering.

Bunny opened her mouth, hesitantly at first, and began to hum a halting melody.


	18. Seventeen

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

**Seventeen:**

The shadows of the night were occupied by a figure who grinned up at the waning moon with crimson eyes. She curled her red hair around boney fingers that were capped with long scarlet nails. A cruel smile slipped across the woman's face as she contemplated her revenge.

Once upon a time she had been one of the most gifted women on the moon, she had possessed magical abilities that rivaled even the Queen's and for that she was banished. Well, for trying to start an uprising on the dark side of the moon. She had never believed that they should be forced to protect the earthlings, what did it matter if thousands of years before a queen had made a pledge to her dying lover?

The woman hissed.

Now she was preparing her revenge.

At first she had only wanted to make the Moon's royal family suffer, but soon she had realized that suffering was not nearly enough. Even the slaughter that would have been provided by the Earth massacring the Moon's people was not sufficient.

So she had gained a powerful ally, and sold her soul for the power to destroy the Moon Kingdom forever.

She had come to the earth and become the King's most trusted advisor. She played off his love for his son and his fear of his people, feeding him poison until he was primed to attack the Moon. But that wasn't enough.

She had suggested that the King might need more allies, and that he could find them in the other planets. It had been easy to engineer the Conference of Peace. It had been easy to plant fear in the court's mind.

And then the Moon had tried to interfere.

Luckily, the Shitennou had proven to be an unexpected asset. They had seduced the Princesses from the inner planets and the outcast Princess of Jupiter, allowing for just the right division of power. There would be a slaughter to be sure, but it would take a while and rain destruction upon the whole solar system.

The woman's evil grin grew larger.

Oh yes, everything was going perfectly. The first casualty of war would be the hapless girl who had stumbled too far into the briar patch.

* * *

"She attacked the Princess of Jupiter." 

Darien slouched in his chair, eyeing the room's other occupants. For three days they had been running through the same argument while Bunny sat rotting in a cell. As soon as he understood what was happening Darien had given strict orders about her treatment, orders that would be obeyed on pain of death.

"She didn't really _hurt_ the Princess." Darien countered. "You can't put someone to death for that, and we already know that the Princess of Jupiter won't say anything."

Nephrite jutted his chin out rebelliously. "But I will, I was a witness."

"It's your word against hers."

"But I'm a Lord and she is a serving girl." Nephrite shot back. "She would have to be the bloody _princess_ of the Moon for her word to weigh more than mine."

"And she is a spy." Jadeite supplied, always willing to go up against Darien.

"But you have no _proof_."

"Calm down, gentlemen. Please." A purring voice broke into the argument.

Darien and his cousins glanced over at the speaker. The King's newest advisor was a slightly sickly looking woman; her skin seemed to have permanently taken on a green cast that contrasted with her almost red eyes. She had long wavy red hair that hung down her back, past her hips. Currently, the woman was stroking her turquoise necklace with her skeletal fingers, every now and then she would tap on red lacquered fingernail against one of the stones.

She entered the room, preceding Darien's parents.

"Mother. Father. Lady Beryl."

* * *

Darien walked down the stairs into the dungeon. It was the first time he had ever been here; the narrow stair case was dark and dank, he would have slipped and fallen on the stairs if he hadn't had both hands pressed against the slimy walls and a man walking before him bearing a torch. 

"Tis a pretty lil' thin' we got down 'ere 'ighness."

Darien gritted his teeth; yes, he knew that she was pretty. She was very pretty. It was probably that fact that had thrown him off of her true character.

He moved one hand from the wall and reached up to touch his neck, he still couldn't quite believe that there wasn't even a little broken skin where Bunny's blade had touched his neck. He had known by looking at it that it was a finely sharpened weapon that would slice through bone and muscle like warm butter, the fact that he didn't have a nick on his neck betrayed Bunny's superior skills more than the fight they had just had.

The brawny jailer stopped suddenly, a grin spreading over his face as he looked back over his shoulder. "Give a lil' listin 'ighness. She be singin' a'gin."

In the silence that descended between the pair Darien heard an angelic voice raised in song.

"Cats and Rabbits would reside in fancy little houses and be dressed in shoes and hats and trouses in a world of my own."  
Darien shivered; the lyrics could be sweet, funny even, but the echoing melody as Bunny sang it was haunting. He felt the need to get the sound out of his ears. "Is there usually light down here?"

"Naw sir." The guard grinned. "Da beauty was down 'ere shreikin 'bout da rats and da dark first. She gots o'er it, soon 'nough. Now she jus' singin an dancin round. Mayhap she lost it, if ya be getin my meanin."

The prince nodded, brooding over the idea that Bunny could have gone mad. "Let's go see her then." They continued down the stairs, Darien studiously trying to block out the song as they descended.

"All the flowers would have very extra special powers. They would sit and talk to me for hours when I'm lonely in a world of my own."

The song cut off, and Darien rounded a corner to see Bunny facing away from them.  
"Not gonna do no singin fo 'is 'ighness, Princess?" The only reply was a dissatisfied huff. "Come off it, Ducky. Mayhaps 'ill let ya out if ya sing real pretty like."

"No, it's fine." Darien cut in; he really didn't want her to start singing again, at least the silent treatment told him she still had enough sense to be angry. "I have come to speak to the prisoner about the state of her affairs." He paused, half waiting for a reaction. "As a spy we could execute you right here and now, however we are inclined to be lenient. If you swear a blood oath to me right now I will spare your life, and allow you to live in some comfort here on earth." Darien smiled, knowing that he had just made an offer that no one could refuse.

He was also going against the advice of his mother, his father, his cousins, and all of his father's top advisors. But one word from the prince of the earth would silence them all.

Well, maybe not his parents... But no one else would make a noise on the subject.

"So I can die, or I can become your paramour?"

"Uh..." He hadn't expected the blonde to be so candid; the dull way that she spoke was a slap in the face. "Yes."

"There isn't another alternative then, I gather."

"Well we could demand that the Lunarian royal family send someone who has more worth to Earth so that we may..." He paused, uncertain how he would explain the intricacies of politics to the captive.

"You hope that they will trade a more politically essential person for the paltry information I may provide?" She laughed. "You are mad! You are all mad!"

Darien blinked. "That's not it at all!" He protested above Bunny's hysterical laughter. "We simply want to ensure that the peace negotiations will go smoothly, and the best way to do that is..."

"To hold the Moon's Princess hostage!" Bunny interrupted, still laughing. "I'm sure that you have already rejected the Mare Serenitatis's offer." She turned around to face Darien and the jailer, affording Darien a clear view of the tears coursing down her grimy cheeks. "Please just kill me now, I can neither swear an oath to you, nor will the Moon find anyone more important to send in my stead."

"Well then, I suppose that your people are set on a war." Darien growled, as he fought against the impulse to run forward and gather Bunny in his arms. She looked so helpless...

"No sir, we are set against it! How could we hope to win?" She sank down onto the wet stone floor; she looked utterly defeated, holding her head in her hands as she cried. "It is your father who is set on a war, it is your people who thirst for blood, it is you who yearn for the glory. You want to see the Moon bleed, lop off my head! Take away my people's hope for the future, take away my people's ability to fight, take away your protection!" Her voice rose with every word, until it broke. "Wash the Moon silver with our blood, it will provide a spectacle for your night sky."

"Open the cell." Darien growled at the jailer.

As soon as the bared door slid open Darien was inside, gathering Bunny's slight form in his arms. He had lost the battle with himself. "Please Bunny, swear the oath." He whispered as he stroked her hair. "I love you, I need you. Swear the oath."

He felt her stiffen in his arms as she struggled against sobs. She turned her teary eyes up to his. "You will have to kill me; I will not betray me people!" She stood and moved away, standing in the corner of the cell with her back to the Prince.

"Yer a crazy lady." The jailer said, shaking his head. "If you was my kin I tell ya, do the oath. Ya live nicer then ya do befer."

Darien brushed himself off and slammed the cell door behind himself. He was riding an emotional roller coaster, and this time anger was in control. "We have an execution to plan, jailer."

* * *

_Thank you all for being patient with me; I had a dickens of a time getting the story going again after the fight with Bunny and Darien. At first I thought I would go directly to the jail scene in this chapter, but that doesn't offer you a lot. Then i thought that I would do a scene with Bunny's arrest. I hope you like the compromise. Anyway, I posted three chapters for you so hopefully you will forgive me for taking so long to update._

_As always, please review. I accept all criticism and praise, and if you happen to notice any glaring errors please let me know and I'll fix them ASAP. I will try to post the next chapter in the next week. _

_Finally, I have decided that I'm not going to go back and rename the OC "Amaya" she really is a very minor character, and isn't going to be showing up again. Sorry if you find that disappointing, but if i renamed her I'd have to rewrite the whole passage because the character is an "Amaya" and not a... "Rachel". -LS _


	19. Eighteen v1

**Cats And Rabbits**

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

_Hi guys. I'm going to do something a little different here. Some of you may be getting sick of how terrible I am, how strange/confusing my writing style is, and how infrequently I update. So I am giving you an out._

_If you want to stop read this chapter, and it will be the end. If you want more than this leave me a review and let me know. It will probably be a couple of weeks before I update again, but I think it will be worth it. So, I hope some of you will hold out for Chapter Eighteen v2.0_

_If you aren't interested, thanks for reading and reviewing._

_Finally, I need a Beta for my next two stories. Check my profile for details, and send me a message if you are interested._

_-LS_

**Eighteen:**

He had hissed a rather pointed warning to the jailer as he left; if anyone harmed a hair on Bunny's head there would be hell to pay. It didn't matter how high ranking the person was; if they hurt her heads would still roll.

The prince was still trying to cool down, he was frustrated.

Was he wrong? He had thought that she loved him. He thought that something in her face came alive every time they were together.

Darien was knocked backwards against a well, all of his air departed from his lungs in a woosh. He looked down, startled.

"You can't kill her!"

The Prince blinked down at the slight visage of the Princess Mercury; he searched his mind trying to recall everything he knew about this creature. He hadn't seen much of her; it seemed she was content to stick to the background with Zoicite and a good book to keep her company. Mina had said that Venus offered the smaller planet protection so that they could go on in their search for wisdom, of course she wouldn't try to compete with her protector.

"You can't kill her, Prince Endymion!"

Darien stared at her, puzzled, as he struggled to gain enough breath to speak. The princess had come zooming around a corner and banged right into him, with out preamble or apology she had launched into her mission.

"What the devil are you talking about, Princess?" He demanded, at this point he was too frustrated to worry about his language. Zoicite had been raving about this young lady's wit and intelligence, but thus far the Prince was not impressed.

"Bunny!" Ami said exasperatedly.

"Oh I can kill her, I guarantee it." He knew that

"If you really don't want a war, you have no choice!"

Darien pulled back, confused. "That little devil is going to run home and tell the Lunarians that we are ripe for picking. She'll tell them that we will be easily defeated! She said herself that she isn't the best fighter they have, and she is a hell of a lot better than most of our warriors."

"No, no, no!" Ami was shaking her head emphatically. "First of all, she is their best fighter; she is modest and she thought that it might be helpful to make you think twice about attacking the Moon if they have many good warriors. Second of all, no one on the moon wants to fight with the earth... Lunarians can't hurt Humans, they are just there to protect you from evil."

Darien shrugged, he tried to remain nonchalant. He knew that he would grasp for anything that would keep Bunny away from death, but there didn't seem to be a viable option. Plus, he wasn't about to broadcast his love life and extracurricular activities to women that thrived on gossip. "Still no reason that I shouldn't kill the little harlot."

"SHE IS THE PRINCESS!" Ami hissed.

"What?"

"Princess Usagi Serenity Lunaris of the Moon Kingdom. Her name means the Most Serene Rabbit of the Moon... Bunny, for short."

"What?"

Ami rolled her eyes. "She is the Princess of the Moon Kingdom. If you kill her... The Gods only know what will happen."

Darien took the stairs down to the dungeon three at a time, the jailer scurried behind him calling warnings about him breaking his royal neck. When he reached the bottom he careened around the corner and unlocked Bunny's cell. He yanked open the door, carelessly leaving it open, and crossed the cell in two strides.

She stood wide eyed in the center of the cell.

"You!" He grabbed Bunny's arm and swung her around to face him. "You are the Princess!"

Bunny narrowed her eyes, and tried to free her arm from his grasp. Her free arm moved involuntarily to her hair, patting the poisoned daggars.

"You didn't say that the Moon won't send anyone more important, you just said that they wouldn't have anyone more important to send to replace you." He began to drag her from the cell.

The Mare Serenitatis had tried to take Bunny's place within an hour of the blonde's arrest; and shortly there after Darien had discovered that Varrick Lunaris was one of the Moon's Princes. Darien had wondered why the Lunar Prince would reveal his identity and offer to change his life for a common spy's, his father's advisors had assumed that Bunny knew more than they were aware of and had recommended that they hold out for the Princess. Now everything made sense.

"You were going to let me kill you!"

"You might as well leave me here and have the satisfaction of killing me yourself. I will not be used to subjugate my people."

"And what are you going to do about it? You can't hurt me, you can't hurt my parents. You can't even hurt one of our maids."

Bunny wriggled out of Darien's grasp and darted over to a shadowed corner of the cell, it would provide her with something to hold onto. "You are so completely blinded by your own ego, just because you don't care enough for your people to sacrifice for them does not mean that everyone feels that way."

"Go ahead then, abdicate your throne. We can still use your parent's love." Darien's voice hissed dangerously as he advanced on the woman in the corner. "But I will get you out of this cell if I have to break you in every possible way."

"You flaming idiot, no wonder you and your people are miserable." Bunny's voice rose almost hysterically.

"I'll ring your snide little neck if you utter one more word!" Darien yelled, his fists clenching in anger. "And don't think that I won't take great pleasure from it."

Bunny released a cold laugh. "I wouldn't dare think that you had a heart or a conscience, but please go ahead ring my neck and save me the trouble!"

Darien froze as his captive's words hit him; he felt them sting and fought against the realization that came with them. She was going to die; one way or another she would see that her life ended. She was going to die for no reason. She was going to die so that his father could feel good about dying. He felt a white hot fury rising in his chest, a fury that he had never felt before.

Bunny watched his advance with trepidation. Wide eyed, she sank deeper into the corner taking a firm hold of the metal bars. She had realized her mistake as soon as the words left her lips; it was one thing to mock Darien, but completely the opposite to assume that he had no heart. Bunny knew that, despite the differences that forced them into a battle of wills, their hearts were devoted to each other. She knew that he had heard the truth in her voice, and now they had no where to turn.

"You are not going to die." For the first time since entering the cell Darien's voice was a low rumble; the power and fury behind his voice frightened Bunny more than his yelling. "You are not going to die!"

Bunny closed her eyes against the coming pain as Darien reached her. She waited for him to forcefully remove her from the cell, she waited for her bones to crack in resistance, she waited for her heart to die. But it never came.

Instead Bunny felt his body radiating heat inches from hers; his calloused hands reached over to gently disentangle her arms from the metal bars. After everything they had been through, he still wouldn't hurt her.

"Let go, Baby." His voice was husky with emotion. "Let it all go, Baby."

Her knees buckled, and she sank to the damp floor. She wanted to let go, but she knew that she couldn't. Despite herself she leaned toward Darien, her head hanging, and her eyes closed as tears leaked out.

Darien had knelt down next to her, his knees where touching hers as his hands gently uncurled her fingers from each bar. "Let go, Baby."

Her right hand released from the last bar on that side, he took it in his right hand and gently set to work on her left. They were leaning together now, their foreheads touching.

Bunny didn't dare open her eyes, she knew what would happen if she looked up into Darien's eyes. She would see the love, the pain, and the dreams swimming in his eyes and she would lose all of her resolve. He could make her crumble, so she kept her eyes closed tightly as she wept.

"We'll destroy the solar system."

"Then I'll build you a new one."

He didn't understand the feeling that ran through his body when Bunny turned her face up to look into his eyes. It was as though the world had stopped spinning; there was a sense of impending doom, and a knowledge that he couldn't have cared if he wanted to... But he didn't want to. He only wanted to care for Bunny.


	20. Note from the Author

_Howdy all,_

_I feel the need to assuage your concerns, even though it is not an update. I'm sorry that I have left you hanging for so long; I am both gratified and shocked by the response that I received from the last chapter. Thank you all for your encouragement, I am delighted that you like my story._

_This is not an update, however. Sorry._

_I have always had every intention of finishing "Cats and Rabbits" however I want to finish it before I start posting updates again. That way I can be certain that I know where everything is going, and I won't be tempted to drag it out unnecessarily. I always hate it when stories just keep going for the drama._

_Anyway, I can't make any promises as to when the story will be finished. But I am working on it._

_I will post a recap chapter for you all, when I post the next new chapter._

_Please bear with me for a little longer._

_-LS_


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